bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Late Eocene Ostracoda (Crustacea) from the Waihao district, South Canterbury, New Zealand
Authors: Ayress Michael A.
Published: August 2016

A well-preserved and diverse ostracod fauna of late Eocene, Kaiatan Stage age is described from a mudstone sample (Ashley Mudstone Formation) from the Waihao River outcrop near McCulloch's Bridge, South Canterbury, New Zealand. A total of 8,662 specimens are assigned to 104 species including one new genus and 13 new species. Of the new species all but the Cytheruridae are described herein. The new genus isTaracythere, type speciesT. proterva(Hornibrook, 1953) and the new species described here are:Pseudeucythere biplana, Eucythere sulcocostatula, Copytus pseudoelongatus, Neocytherideis reticulata, Patagonacythere waihaoensis, Munseyella pseudobrevis, Actinocythereis microagrenonandPennyella leptodictyota.Because of a need for reillustration of established species, most of the remaining 91 species are illustrated and the systematics of some of these is remarked upon. Sixty-two species have been previously described, eight are tentatively referred to previously described species, and 21 are left in open nomenclature mainly due to paucity of material. The assemblage is interpreted as having lived in a low energy marine environment on the outer shelf or upper slope. Comparison with contempory ostracod faunas of southeastern Australia indicates very high affinity: 56 common genera, out of the 61 genera listed here. Considering the timing of Tasman seafloor spreading (Paleocene to Middle Eocene) and foundering of continental crustal regions of the eastern Tasman Basin to bathyal depths (initially Middle Eocene), trans-Tasman ostracod dispersal probably predates late Eocene times. The greater number of endemic Eocene genera recorded in Australia suggests that migration was dominantly eastwards.
Late Cambrian Radiolaria from Hunan, China
Authors: Xiping Dong , Knoll Andrew H. , Lipps Jere H.
Published: August 2016

Well-preserved polycystine radiolarians, representing a new species in the family Entactiniidae, were recovered from subtidal micrites and bioclastic micrites of the Upper Cambrian (Glyptagnostus reticulatustrilobite zone) Bitiao Formation, western Hunan, China. Confirming earlier, questionable reports of Cambrian Radiolaria, these fossils place the first appearance of the group somewhat before its Ordovician emergence as a principal constituent of the oceanic silica cycle, but long after the Proterozoic diversification of protists.
Famatinorthis cf. F. turneri Levy and Nullo, 1973 (Brachiopoda, Orthida) from the Shin Brook Formation (Ordovician, Arenig) in Maine
Authors: Neuman Robert B.
Published: August 2016

Famatinorthis cf. F. turneri Levy and Nullo, 1973, is an abundant component of a poorly preserved brachiopod assemblage in volcaniclastic rocks at one locality in the Arenig-age Shin Brook Formation in northeastern Maine. The brachiopod assemblage of the Shin Brook Formation has been classed as a Celtic biogeographic assemblage that is interpreted to have lived in cool water at mid- to high peri-Gondwanan latitudes. Famatinorthis turneri sensu stricto is one of the six brachiopod species known from coeval volcanicsrich rocks of continental margin affinities in the Famatina Range of northwestern Argentina; the presence of its congener in Maine supports the Celtic affinities of the Famatina assemblage, but its Ordovician location remains cryptic.
Revision and reassignment of Strophomena cornuta Hall, 1843 (Brachiopoda, Silurian) to Strophochonetes Muir-Wood, 1962
Authors: Racheboeuf Patrick R. , Amos Fred C.
Published: August 2016

Restudy of Strophomena cornuta Hall, 1843, confirms that it belongs to the superfamily Chonetoidea and establishes its assignment to Strophochonetes within the family Strophochonetidae. This is the first recorded occurrence of the genus in the Silurian of New York, and its late Llandovery age makes S. cornutus (Hall) one of the earliest representatives of the genus.
New bivalve taxa from the Tucumcari Formation (Cretaceous, Albian), New Mexico, and the biostratigraphic significance of the basal Tucumcari fauna
Authors: Kues Barry S.
Published: August 2016

Basal strata of the Tucumcari Formation south of San Jon, New Mexico, contain a bivalve assemblage different from that of the remainder of the formation. Ceratostreon texanum and two new species herein described (Gyrostrea hinchada, Plicatula quayensis) are the dominant faunal elements of these basal strata. A fourth bivalve, long known as Lopha quadriplicata, ranges downward approximately to the upper limit of C. texanum. However, reevaluation of the taxonomy of this and related species indicates that 1) they have little in common with typical representatives of Lopha and are grouped in a new genus, Peilinia, and 2) specimens from the Tucumcari and related formations formerly assigned to L. quadriplicata are a separate new species, P. levicostata, which appeared in the southern Western Interior before P. quadriplicata appeared in eastern Texas and Oklahoma. The biostratigraphic ranges of several widely distributed bivalves are utilized with ammonite range zones to refine the correlation of several southern Western Interior sequences with the classic lower Washita sequence of Texas and Oklahoma. Because ammonites are rare in the western area, bivalves are locally more important in establishing the age of some exposures. For example, the boundary between or slight overlap of the successive zones of C. texanum and P. levicostata in eastern New Mexico and west-central Texas marks the position of the Craginites serratescens ammonite zone to the east. Strata previously called Kiamichi and Duck Creek in west-central Texas are best considered part of the Tucumcari Formation, representing deposition that occurred mainly earlier than the main Tucumcari sequence in New Mexico.
Oldest representatives of the superfamily Cirroidea (Vetigastropoda) with notes on early phylogeny
Authors: Frýda Jiří
Published: August 2016

Two new genera, Barrandecirrus (Porcelliinae) and Pernericirrus (Agnesiinae), from Upper Silurian marine sediments of the Prague Basin (Barrandian area, central Bohemia) are described. Both these genera belong to the family Porcelliidae and represent the oldest representatives of the superfamily Cirroidea (Vetigastropoda). The sinistrally coiled teleoconch of Barrandecirrus filiformis (Perner) suggests that the pseudobilaterally symmetrical teleoconch of the younger genera of Porcelliinae (Porcellia and Coloniacirrus) is a secondary shell character that originated during post-Silurian evolution of this group. In addition, the sinistral, low trochospiral teleoconch of early Agnesiinae [Pernericirrus sinistorsus (Perner) and Agnesia costata (Goldfuss)] as well as the asymmetrical position of the selenizone and the sinistral teleoconch in early Porcelliinae (Barrandecirrus filiformis) support the opinion that both Porcelliinae and Agnesiinae arose from the same stock. Data presented also suggest that the superfamily Cirroidea evolved during the Silurian or earlier, and it has developed parallel to and independently of other larger groups of the Vetigastropoda such as the Pleurotomarioidea and the Trochoidea.
Morphologic variation within and among populations of the camerate crinoid Agaricocrinus (Lower Mississippian, Kentucky and Tennessee): Breaking the spell of the mushroom
Authors: Meyer David L. , Ausich William I.
Published: August 2016

Morphologic variation within and among populations of the common monobathrid camerate crinoid Agaricocrinus was investigated using multivariate and bivariate techniques for samples from 15 localities in the Lower Mississippian (late Osagean) Fort Payne Formation of south-central Kentucky and north-central Tennessee. Despite a wide range of variability, two morphotypes were distinguished at most localities in both autochthonous and allochthonous carbonate facies: Agaricocrinus americanus and the less common A. crassus. Morphologic characters that can be reliably used to separate these taxa include character of the anal area, width of the second primibrachial, and shape of the arm facets. Many other characters of calyx shape and plate proportions used previously for species recognition, such as depth of the basal concavity, height of the interbrachials, height of the tegmen, and number of arms, are widely variable within populations. Variation within species populations is ontogenetic, although a geographic component is recognized within A. crassus. The definition of A. crassus is emended to encompass a broader range of variation than heretofore realized. Eight species previously reported from the Fort Payne Formation are placed in synonymy: A. arcula, A. dissimilis, A. elegans, A. podagricus, A. ponderosus, A. profundus, and A. tugurium are junior synonyms of A. americanus. A. attenuata is a junior synonym of A. crassus.
Fusellar banding in Silurian retiolitid graptolites
Authors: Lenz A. C. , Thorsteinsson R.
Published: August 2016

The study of specimens of the retiolitid graptolites Stomatograptus sp., and Agastograptus robustus with a complete or nearly complete periderm permits a better understanding of the growth and development of retiolitids. Incremental layers deposited in more or less concentric layers on skeletal lists are synchronized with the deposition of sheetlike fusellar bands between the lists. Lists, therefore, become progressively more robust, while the periderm of fusellar bands remain single-layered. It appears that before the development of new distal thecal lists and concomitant deposition of fusellar bands can begin, the next proximal-most thecae must be essentially complete. Retiolitid graptolite thecal growth thus appears to mirror that of “normal” graptolites.
Paleoecological relationships of the Late Cretaceous lamniform shark, Cretoxyrhina mantelli (Agassiz)
Authors: Shimada Kenshu
Published: August 2016

Several specimens of the Late Cretaceous lamniform shark, Cretoxyrhina mantelli (Agassiz), from the Niobrara Chalk of Kansas suggest that the shark fed on teleosts, mosasaurs, and possibly plesiosaurs. These animals are active vertebrates, so C. mantelli probably occupied the apex of the food chain in the Late Cretaceous seas. This top predator, however, was probably scavenged frequently by anacoracid sharks. Carcharodon carcharias (great white shark) and carcharhinid sharks are considered as the modern guild counterparts for Cretoxyrhina mantelli and anacoracids, respectively.
The green algaChaetocladus(Dasycladales)
Authors: LoDuca Steven T.
Published: August 2016

Two species of the enigmatic algaChaetocladus, C. ruedemanni(new species) andC. dubius(previously regarded as a graptolite incertae sedis), are described from the Silurian Lockport Group of New York and Ontario, Canada, respectively. A comprehensive investigation reveals that these and otherChaetocladustaxa occur in distinctive Konservat-Lagerstätten in association with other thallophytic algae, annelid worms, and lightly sclerotized arthropods. The sedimentology, taphonomy, and biotic composition ofChaetocladus-bearing deposits indicate that this alga thrived in shallow, stagnant, occasionally storm-agitated marine environments. In these settings, preservation of thallophytic algae and associated soft-bodied animals apparently was facilitated by a combination of obrution, anoxia, and early diagenesis of the burial muds.

The morphology ofChaetocladuscorresponds to that characteristic of the green alga order Dasycladales, and it is herein referred to this long-ranging taxon as a representative of a new subtribe (Chaetocladinae, new subtribe) within the tribe Salpingoporelleae (emended herein), family Triploporellaceae (emended herein). This euspondyl, endosporate genus extends the range of the euspondyl dasyclads significantly, from the Early Devonian back to the Middle Ordovician, and bridges an evolutionary gap between early Paleozoic aspondyl, endosporate forms and middle Paleozoic euspondyl, cladosporate forms.
Permian Tethyan Fusulinina from the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Authors: Stevens Calvin H. , Davydov Vladimir I. , Bradley Dwight
Published: August 2016

Two samples from a large, allochthonous limestone block in the McHugh Complex of the Chugach terrane on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, contain species of 12 genera of Permian Fusulinina including Abadehella, Kahlerina, Pseudokahlerina?, Nankinella, Codonofusiella, Dunbarula, Parafusulina?, Chusenella, Verbeekina, Pseudodoliolina, Metadoliolina?, Sumatrina?, and Yabeina, as well as several other foraminiferans and one alga. The assemblage of fusulinids is characteristically Tethyan, belonging to the Yabeina archaica zone of early Midian (late Wordian) age. Similar faunas are known from the Pamirs, Transcaucasia, and Japan, as well as from allochthonous terranes in British Columbia, northwestern Washington, and Koryakia in eastern Siberia.
Pennsylvanian marine gastropods from the Appalachian Basin
Authors: Hoare R. D. , Sturgeon M. T. , Anderson J. R.
Published: August 2016

Extensive collections of Pennsylvanian marine gastropods from 20 marine units in the Appalachian Basin contain 227 recognizable taxa. Twenty-two new species and subspecies are recognized includingBellerophon(Bellerophon)laticallis, B.(B.)graphicus varicallis, B.(Pharkidonotus)breyeri, Knightites(Cymatospira)montfortianus discordis, K.(Retispira)fascireticulatus, Colpites lirata, Abylea formosa, A. paradoxus, A insolitus, Spiroscala decorata, Euconospira equisita, Neilsonia invisitata, Worthenia parvula, Gosseletina nodosa, Glyptotomaria(Dictyotomaria)concinna, G.(D.)facta, G.(D.)decora, Phymatopleura preclara, Callispira grossa, Ceraunocochlis?subulata, Streptacis?ingens, and S.?complanata.

Correlation of marine stratigraphic units within the collection area are discussed. Zonation on the basis of pseudozygopleurid taxa, following that of Anderson et al. (1989), is presented as well as mention of characteristic taxa of the various series.
Endemism and extinction of a new genus of Chionine (Veneridae: Chioninae) bivalve from the Late Neogene of Venezuela
Authors: Roopnarine Peter D.
Published: August 2016

Liromissus,a new genus of chionine bivalve from the Neogene of Venezuela, serves as an example of the link between geographic range, endemism and extinction susceptibility. Unlike other Neogene tropical American chionine genera,Liromissuswas not widespread in the tropical Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific, but was instead restricted to the Atlantic Gatunian region. Late Neogene extinctions in tropical America affected taxa with restricted geographic ranges, and regions with higher degrees of endemism more severely. Accordingly,Liromissusis the only tropical chionine genus to suffer extinction during the Neogene.

The type species ofLiromissus, L. quirosensis,was originally described as a member of the genusLirophora.Morphological considerations preclude this assignment, but also demonstrate thatLiromissuspossesses all the characters diagnostic of the Chioninae.
Implications of wall composition and structure in agglutinated foraminifers
Authors: Loeblich Alfred R. , Tappan Helen
Published: August 2016

The foraminiferal suborder Astrorhizina is reinstated for the typically monothalamous agglutinated taxa whose cementing material is solely organic, the suborder Haplophragmiina reinstated for multilocular agglutinated taxa with organic cement and simple to alveolar walls. The suborder Trochamminina is recognized for those with organic cement and simple agglutinated walls, and the suborder Textulariina is restricted to include only those with agglutinated walls containing biogenic calcareous cement, and typically canaliculate. In the latter suborder, the new generaConnemarella, type speciesGaudryina rudisWright, andHemlebenia, type speciesHemlebenia aptiensisn. sp., are described in the expanded family Pseudogaudryinidae, subfamily Pseudogaudryininae, whose geologic range thereby is extended into the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian).
In situ earliest Cambrian tube worms and the oldest metazoan-constructed biostrome (Placentian Series, southeastern Newfoundland)
Authors: Landing Ed
Published: August 2016

“Ladatheca” cylindrica (Grabau, 1900) was a eurytopic metazoan with a calcareous operculum and an elongate, gently tapering conch up to 15+ cm long and with an apical angle of approximately 0.75–2.0°. This apparent polychaete was geographically widespread in the sub-trilobitic Lower Cambrian of middle latitude, siliciclastic (middle and upper Placentian Series, Avalon Zone) and low latitude, carbonate platform (Tommotian Stage, Siberia(?) and Kazakhstan; and, probably, the upper Meishucunian Stage, southwestern China) sequences.

In situ conchs (vertically to steeply inclined, apex down) of “Ladatheca” cylindrica are common in deep subtidal, siliciclastic mudstones (Chapel Island Formation) and in a peritidal algal mud mound(?) limestone (West Centre Cove Formation) in southeastern Newfoundland. Closely juxtaposed conchs locally form a worm reef at the top of the West Centre Cove Formation. This structure is older than the oldest archaeocyathan build-ups and is the earliest known metazoan-constructed biostrome. “Ladatheca” cylindrica was a dominant element of the sessile benthos prior to its apparent ecological displacement by Coleoloides typicalis Walcott, 1889, in the upper Placentian Series.
A new species of Vorticifex (Gastropoda: Planorbidae) from late Cenozoic lake deposits, Nevada
Authors: Firby James R.
Published: August 2016

A new species of planorbid gastropod, Vorticifex taylori, is described from the Late Miocene (Clarendonian) Truckee Formation at its type area in Churchill County, Nevada. Comparison with younger and older species assigned to Vorticifex indicates a high degree of morphologic variation within the genus as contrasted with relatively conservative intraspecific variation, which may reflect ecologic similarities at discrete times during the development of the Great Basin subprovince of the Basin and Range physiographic province.
New Cretaceous and Tertiary Pholadidae (Mollusca: Bivalvia) from California
Authors: Kennedy George L.
Published: August 2016

Cretaceous and early Tertiary Pholadidae (Mollusca: Bivalvia) from the Pacific Slope of North America are rare and only poorly known. Three new species, each the earliest known Pacific Slope representative of its respective genus, are described:Barnea(Anchomasa)saulaen. sp. (Pholadinae) from the Upper Cretaceous (Coniacian and Santonian) Redding Formation near Redding, uppermost Sacramento Valley, Shasta County, northern California;Chaceia fulcheraen. sp. (Martesiinae) from three widely separated areas of outcrop represented by 1) the middle Miocene (“Temblor”) Temblor Formation near Oil City and in Jasper Canyon, western Fresno County, central California, 2) the middle Miocene (“Temblor”) Topanga(?) Group in the northern Santa Ana Mountains, Orange County, southern California, and 3) the upper Miocene (Wishkahan) Montesano Formation on the Middle Fork of the Satsop River, Mason County, western Washington; andNetastoma squiresin. sp. (Jouannetiinae) from the lowest Eocene (uppermost “Meganos”) part of the Santa Susana Formation north of Simi Valley in the Santa Susana Mountains, Ventura County, southern California.
An evaluation of the V. J. Gupta conodont papers
Authors: Webster Gary D. , Rexroad Carl B. , Talent John A.
Published: August 2016

Distortion of the paleontologic literature in most of the 450 papers bearing V. J. Gupta as author or co-author during the past 30 years has been documented by Agarwal and Singh (1981), Talent (1989a, 1989b, 1989c, 1990a, 1990b, 1990c, in press), Talent et al. (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991), Ahluwalia (1989), Bassi (1989, 1990), Brock et al. (1991), and Radhakrishna (1991). Replies to the charges of fabrication and distortion by Gupta (1989, 1990a, 1990b) were futile attempts to distract the reader, rather than to provide information to refute the charges.
Silurian calcareous algae, cyanobacteria, and microproblematica from the Alexander terrane, Alaska
Authors: Riding Robert , Soja Constance M.
Published: August 2016

Limestones of Silurian age (late Llandovery–Ludlow) from the Heceta Formation of southeastern Alaska (Alexander terrane) yield a diverse assemblage of calcified microbial organisms. Fourteen taxa are described, including the cyanobacteriaGirvanellaand ?Hedstroemia, possible cyanobacteriaEpiphyton, Ludlovia, andRenalcis, three species of “Solenopora,” and microproblematicaRothpletzellaandWetheredella.Diagnoses and descriptions are also given of the new epiphytacean genusHecetaphytonn. gen. and new microproblematica generaTuxekanellan. gen. andSphaerinan. gen.
Silurian microbial associations from the Alexander terrane, Alaska
Authors: Soja Constance M. , Riding Robert
Published: August 2016

Silurian calcareous algae, cyanobacteria, and microproblematica are abundantly preserved in the Alexander terrane of southeastern Alaska. They represent a diverse population of calcified microbes that contributed to the formation of a variety of shallow- and deep-water carbonate deposits. Five associations are recognized on the basis of recurring groups of microbial taxa. These include aGirvanella-Tuxekanellaassociation that formed oncoids and thick encrustations on skeletal grains in shelf environments. ARenalcisassociation predominated in a stromatoporoid-coral reef that developed at the incipient shelf margin on a crinoid-solenoporid shoal (“Solenopora” association). Other organic buildups are characterized by aLudloviaassociation, which constructed skeletal stromatolite reefs, and by anEpiphyton-Sphaerinaassociation that contributed to the formation of a stromatolitic mud mound. A mixed microbial assemblage reflects transport and mixing of shallow-water microbial biotas that were deposited by turbidity currents, debris flows, and slumps in a slope environment.
Chitinozoa from the Early Devonian (Lochkovian–Pragian) Garra Limestone, central New South Wales, Australia
Authors: Winchester-Seeto Theresa
Published: August 2016

Chitinozoa have been recovered from three sections within the Garra Limestone in central New South Wales, Australia. A total of 31 species are identified and two new species,Angochitina hypenetesandBursachitina mawsonae, are described. Three stratigraphically distinct assemblages from the late Lochkovian to the early Pragian are distinguished and compared with faunas of a similar age from Europe and northern Africa.
Shelly fossils from the Early Cambrian (Toyonian) Wirrealpa, Aroona Creek, and Ramsay Limestones of South Australia
Authors: Brock Glenn A. , Cooper Barry J.
Published: August 2016

Small shelly fossils from the Wirrealpa and Aroona Creek Limestones, Flinders Ranges, and the temporally equivalent Ramsay Limestone, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia, are described and assessed. These formations, deposited during a widespread marine transgression, have traditionally been assigned an early Middle Cambrian age based on lateral facies relationships, lithostratigraphic interpretation, and age diagnostic trilobites. However, new data from regional sequence stratigraphy and mounting paleontological evidence suggest that a late Early Cambrian age (equivalent to the Toyonian Stage from the Siberian Platform) is more appropriate for these units. Twenty-four taxa, including a number of problematica, poriferans, coeloscleritophorans, palaeoscolecidans, “conodontomorphs,” hyolithelminthes, hyoliths, mollusks, and inarticulate brachiopods, are reported herein; many of these have not previously been reported from the Cambrian of South Australia. The enigmaticChalasiocranos exquisitumn. gen. and sp., known from disarticulated tuberculate cone-shaped phosphatic sclerites, andProtomelission gatehousein. gen. and sp., a problematic, perhaps colonial organism, known from phosphatic plates, are especially notable. The genusKaimenellais formally included in the Palaeoscolecida, and two species (includingK. dailyin. sp.) are recognized.
Lower Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) ammonites from the Merchantville Formation of New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware
Authors: Kennedy W. J. , Cobban W. A.
Published: August 2016

The Merchantville Formation of New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware yields a distinctive assemblage of upper lower Campanian ammonites:Pachydiscus(Pachydiscus) sp.,Pseudoschloenbachiacf.P. chispaensisAdkins, 1929,Placenticeras placenta(DeKay, 1828),Texanites(Texanites) sp.,Menabites(Delawarella)delawarensis(Morton, 1830c),M.(D.)vanuxemi(Morton, 1830c),Menabites(Bererella) sp.,Submortoniceras punctatumCollignon, 1948,S. uddeniYoung, 1963,Cryptotexanites paedomorphicusn. gen. and sp.,Glyptoxocerassp.,Chesapeakella nodatumn. gen. and sp.,Baculites haresiReeside, 1927, andScaphites(Scaphites)hippocrepis(DeKay, 1828) III of Cobban, 1969. Elements of the fauna occur in the Gulf Coast and Western Interior regions of the United States, in Western Europe, and in Madagascar and provide a basis for correlation at this level.
Stratigraphic and paleobiogeographic summary of Carboniferous marine bivalves of China
Authors: Renjie Zhang , Daoping Yan
Published: August 2016

Carboniferous marine bivalves, especially those of early Late Carboniferous, are abundant and highly diversified in China. About 357 species, 76 genera in 29 families, of Carboniferous marine bivalves have been found from 103 localities throughout the country. This represents 83 percent of the genera (t = 92) and 85 percent of the families (t = 34) reported worldwide. These bivalve faunas are characterized by: 1) the high diversity of Aviculopectinidae and Myalinidae, in place of the highly diversified Pterineidae and Pterinopectinidae of the Devonian; 2) the presence of only three endemic genera (Cucullopsis, Palaeolucina, and Glyptoconcha); and 3) the endemic nature of most species, although some species are closely related to species in North America and Europe. The stratigraphic distribution of Carboniferous bivalves in the four faunal provinces of China is discussed stage by stage. All four faunal provinces of China had a close tie with the tropical to subtropical Tethys Realm during the Carboniferous. About 43.4 percent of the genera are epifauna with byssate attachment, which is almost four times more than the proportion present in living bivalve faunas.
Reassessment of Lower EoceneSeggeurius amourensis: aspects of primitive dental morphology in the mammalian order Hyracoidea
Authors: Court Nicholas , Mahboubi Mohamed
Published: August 2016

New lower dental material of the fossil hyracoid mammal,Seggeurius amourensisCrochet, 1986, from Eocene deposits of the Southern Atlas in Algeria, has prompted a reevaluation of the genus. The dentition as a whole is first described in detail, thus providing a more precise characterization of the genus than has hitherto been available. Peculiarities, particularly in upper molar morphology, are sufficient to uphold a generic distinction. However, based largely on lower molar morphologySeggeurius amourensisis transferred from the subfamily Geniohyinae to Saghatheriinae. In the upper molars, absence of a postmetacrista and the presence of a preprotocrista continuous with the parastyle are interpreted as primitive features in hyracoids. In the lower molars, extreme reduction of the paracristid and the presence of a mesoconid are also considered primitive for hyracoids. These features together with small size, bunodonty, low crown height, and very simple premolar morphology indicate thatSeggeurius amourensisis the most primitive hyrax yet recovered.
Rhaptohelenina papuanensis, a new genus and species of benthic foraminifer from the Recent of the Papuan Plateau and Alexa Bank
Authors: Clark Fred E.
Published: August 2016

A suite of over 70 samples recovered from the tropical southwest Pacific Ocean and selected from the collection of Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) has been the basis of this author's current research. In the course of studying the Recent benthic foraminiferal faunas from these samples, a new species, also referable to a new genus, was identified in six of the samples.
Revision of the generaSphaerodinellaKeupp and Versteegh, 1989 andOrthopithonellaKeuppinKeupp and Mutterlose, 1984 (Calciodinelloideae, calcareous dinoflagellate cysts)
Authors: Streng Michael , Hildebrand-Habel Tania , Willems Helmut
Published: August 2016

The genusSphaerodinellaKeupp and Versteegh, 1989, became obsolete by the assignment of its typeS. albatrosiana(Kamptner, 1963) to the genusCalciodinellumDeflandre, 1947. For the single remaining species ofSphaerodinella,which does not fit into the genusCalciodinellum,the new genusCaracomiais proposed, whose type isC. arctica(Gilbert and Clark, 1983) new genus, new combination. Additionally, a new species ofCaracomiais described:Caracomia Stellanew genus and species. The regional distribution of the two species ofCaracomiashows distinct regional preferences:Caracomia arcticais restricted to cold waters of both hemispheres, whereasCaracomia stellaas yet has only been described from warmer environments. Thus,C. arcticacan be used as a cold water indicator. Comparison ofCaracomiawith other genera has shown a close relationship to the type ofOrthopithonellaand exposed a common misinterpretation of this genus. Therefore, the genusOrthopithonellaKeuppinKeupp and Mutterlose, 1984, is emended to unquestionably accommodate only the typeO. gustafsonii.
First report of Sphenothallus Hall, 1847 in the middle Cambrian
Authors: Iten Heyo Van , Zhu Mao-Yan , Collins Desmond
Published: August 2016

Sphenothallus Hall, 1847 is a widespread Paleozoic marine taxon that has been interpreted most recently as a tubiculous annelid or other ‘worm’ or as a thecate hydrozoan or scyphozoan cnidarian (e.g., Mason and Yochelson, 1985; Feldmann et al., 1986; Van Iten et al., 1992, 1996; Neal and Hannibal, 2000; Zhu et al., 2000). Members of this genus are characterized by a very gently tapered, finely lamellar apatitic tube bearing a closed subconical holdfast and a pair of robust longitudinal thickenings situated at the ends of the tube's greatest diameter (Zhu et al., 2000). Rarely, the tube exhibits an internal transverse wall that extends adaperturally along the inner surface of the tube proper and may also exhibit a subcylindrical terminal protuberance (Van Iten et al., 1992, figs. 5, 6). The transverse wall of Sphenothallus is essentially identical in gross morphology and microstructure to the schott (apical wall) of conulariids, an extinct group of thecate cnidarians (Van Iten, 1991, 1992a, 1992b; Jerre, 1994; Van Iten et al., 1996; Hughes et al., 2000) that may have been closely related to Sphenothallus (Van Iten et al., 1992). Clarke (1913, pl. 26, figs. 16-18; see also Van Iten et al., 1992, fig. 3) illustrated a compound specimen of S. sica consisting of numerous “daughter” tubes arranged in a highly regular manner (in opposition and evenly spaced) along a single, relatively large “parent” tube whose test wall appears to be confluent with the base of the “daughter” tubes. This compound specimen is distinctly different from the more common associations of epibiontic, holdfast-bearing Sphenothallus arranged in a less orderly fashion on Sphenothallus tubes or other shells (see for example Feldmann et al., 1986, fig. 2), and probably is best interpreted as a clonal colony. Sphenothallus tubes, both solitary and branched, are most similar to thecae of solitary and colonial hydrozoan and scyphozoan polyps, differing from these relatively delicate structures mainly in being mineralized and in bearing a pair of longitudinal thickenings. Like conulariids, Sphenothallus occurs in rocks originally deposited in a broad spectrum of marine facies (open carbonate shelf to restricted shale basin), but is perhaps most conspicuous in restricted basin and shelf slope facies represented by dark shales and lime mudstones.
Halysitid and auloporid tabulate corals from the Gascons and West Point Formations (Silurian), Gaspé, Québec, Canada
Authors: Young Graham A. , Lee Dong-Jin , Noble James P. A.
Published: August 2016

The uppermost Lower Silurian and Upper Silurian Gascons and West Point Formations of the southern Gaspé Peninsula were deposited under a broad range of environmental conditions from deep offshore-shelf to reef facies. Halysitid and auloporid tabulate corals occur in a number of facies and show a high degree of endemism.

Two species of Halysitidae and three species of Auloporida are found in these formations. Both halysitids have been previously described from this region. The auloporids include the new speciesSyringopora minutaand another species that may represent the first known Silurian occurrence of the fletcheriellid genusPseudofletcheria. A neotype for the halysitidCystihalysites amplitubulatus(Lambe) is proposed.
Discussion of the systematic placement of the Ordovician brachiopod generaCoopereaandCraspedeliaby Cocks and Rong (1989)
Authors: Potter A. W.
Published: August 2016

Cocks and Rong (1989) subdivided the species of the Ordovician brachiopod genusBimuriainto two groups, those with a simple, or not undercut, cardinal process and those with an undercut cardinal process. They placed the second group in a new genus,Cooperea, and groupedCoopereawithCraspedeliain the new subfamily Craspedeliinae of the family Sowerbyellidae. However, the cardinal process ofBimuriaranges from not undercut to undercut within at least two species.Coopereais therefore placed in synonymy withBimuria, andCraspedeliais returned to the Bimuriidae.

Cocks and Rong (1989) inferred that, with rare exceptions, the cardinal process of the Plectambonitacea evolved from simple to trifid to undercut. The evidence fromBimuriaindicates, however, that the undercut process developed more than once and, inBimuria, directly from the simple type.

As an adjunct to the above discussion three new species are described:Bimuria gilbertella, Craspedelia intonsa, andCraspedeliasp. 1.Craspedeliais a rarely reported genus documented here for the first time in western North America (northern California). Additional evidence is introduced that the ratio Lmusbv/Lebv decreased from middle to late Ordovician species ofBimuria.
The genusChamaLinné (Bivalvia) in the marine Quaternary of northern Patagonia, Argentina
Authors: Pastorino Guido
Published: August 2016

Chama iudicain. sp. is described from the Pleistocene of San Antonio Oeste, Rio Negro Province, Argentina. It is characterized by its large size, thick shell, and crenulated inner margin. Externally it has weak comarginal lamellae. It is indicative of a clear, stenohaline, warm-water environment. This is the first record for the family Chamidae in the Argentine Quaternary.
Uppermost Cambrian slope deposits at Highgate Gorge, Vermont: a minor miscorrelation with major consequences for conodont- and trilobite-based chronocorrelation
Authors: Taylor J. F. , Kennedy D. J. , Miller J. F. , Repetski J. E.
Published: August 2016

Uppermost Cambrian and lowest Ordovician slope deposits in Highgate Gorge, northwestern Vermont, yield a succession of conodont faunas (and a few associated trilobite species) similar to that observed in coeval North American carbonate-platform sequences. Decimeter-scale sampling of a 15-m-interval in two sections comprising thin-bedded limestone–shale rhythmites alternating with thick-bedded debris flow conglomerates yielded 60 trilobite specimens and more than 5,000 conodont elements from 48 productive horizons. The new biostratigraphic control does not support earlier claims that the lowest occurrence ofCordylodus proavusin the Gorge Formation and presumably in other slope sequences is significantly older than the base of theC. proavusZone in platform deposits; rather, it demonstrates the isochronous persistence of this boundary across the North American (Laurentian) shelf margin into Iapetan slope deposits. The common occurrence of the deep, cool-water conodontEoconodontus alisonaeand the agnostoid trilobiteLotagnostus hediniin theEoconodontusZone at Highgate Gorge makes it possible to extend the correlation even farther from the Laurentian platform into uppermost Cambrian strata in Kazakhstan and China. This new information greatly strengthens arguments in favor of using this zonal boundary for defining the international boundary between the Cambrian and Ordovician Systems.

In earlier studies of Highgate Gorge strata, composite treatment of biostratigraphic data from similar but non-correlative intervals (Zones 2 and 3) in two sections created an illusion of significant stratigraphic overlap ofC. proavuswith older faunas and direct association of some trilobite species for which overlap has never been established. Composite treatment of data from Zones 2 and 3 under designations such as “main zone’ or “upper zone’ should be discontinued and species that have been reported as occurring together in the “main zone’ should not be assumed (on the basis of that association alone) to have come from the same stratigraphic level.
Age of the hexactinellid beds of the Roberts Mountains Formation, Snake Mountains, Nevada, and additions to the Silurian sponge fauna
Authors: Rigby J. Keith , Maher Brian J.
Published: August 2016

The graptolite, Bohemicograptus bohemicus tenuis (Bouček, 1936), was collected with additional hexactinellid sponges from the Roberts Mountains Formation in the Snake Mountains of Elko County, Nevada, and dates the sponge beds as Ludlovian. To the modest fauna of hexactinellid sponges described by Rigby et al. (1991), can be added the new sponge genera and species Divaricospongia dilata and Fistellaspongia inclinata. The new species, Gabelia intermedia, is intermediate in size between the moderately fine-textured Gabelia pedunculus Rigby and Murphy, 1983, and the large Gabelia giganta Rigby et al. 1991. Additional specimens of Gabelia pedunculus were collected in association with well-preserved specimens of Gabelia fasiculata Rigby et al. 1991, which show additional skeletal and canal details. Associated coarse root tufts and patches of protosponge skeletal mesh were also discovered as part of the new collections and are described here, although not generically nor specifically identifiable.
Late Devonian (Frasnian) brachiopods from the Wadleigh Limestone, Southeastern Alaska
Authors: Savage Norman M. , Baxter Mary
Published: August 2016

A brachiopod fauna from the upper part of the Wadleigh Limestone, Alexander terrane, southeastern Alaska, is of late Frasnian age and includes the new taxaGypidula cornuta alaskensisn. subsp.,Gypidula upatensisn. sp.,Gypidula perryin. sp.,Gypiduloides craigensisn. gen. and sp.,Parapugnax schmidtin. sp.,Westbroekina chaconenesisn. gen. and sp.,Emanuella altusn. sp.,Emanuella neumanin. sp.,Adolfispirifer sanjuanensisn. sp.,Theodossia albertoensisn. sp.,Cyrtospirifer paridaensisn. sp., andTenticospirifer wadleighensisn. sp. A few other taxa are cosmopolitan or conspecific with species known from elsewhere in western North America. The fauna overall may have North American affinities but includes an unusual number of previously undescribed forms. This lends support to the view, based on the affinities of Frasnian conodonts from this same locality (Savage, 1992) and Famennian brachiopods described from nearby (Savage et al., 1978), that these Alexander terrane faunas were not in general communication with Late Devonian North American cratonic faunas to the east.
Upper Missourian–Lower Wolfcampian (Upper Kasimovian–Lower Asselian) conodont biostratigraphy of the midcontinent, U.S.A.
Authors: Ritter Scott M.
Published: August 2016

The Upper Missourian to lower Wolfcampian sequence (middle Kansas City through lower Council Grove Groups) of the Midcontinent U.S.A. (Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Missouri) is divided into seven biostratigraphic zones defined chiefly upon first occurrences of Streptognathodus species. In ascending order, these are the: 1) Streptognathodus gracilis Zone; 2) Streptognathodus firmus Zone; 3) Streptognathodus pawhuskaensis deflectus Zone; 4) Streptognathodus virgilicus Zone; 5) Streptognathodus brownvillensis Zone; 6) Streptognathodus wabaunsensis s.l. Zone; and 7) Streptognathodus aff. barskovi Zone. The diagnostic Permian genus Sweetognathus first appears in the lower part of the S. aff. S. barskovi Zone. These zones coincide generally with Upper Carboniferous–Lower Permian conodont zones of Russia. Streptognathodus virgilicus, a new species common in the upper Shawnee and Wabaunsee Groups, is described.
Enamel microstructure ofPakicetus(Mammalia: Archaeoceti)
Authors: Maas Mary C. , Thewissen J. G. M.
Published: August 2016

The tooth enamel of the earliest cetacean,Pakicetus, is described and compared to enamel of a primitive artiodactyl and a variety of primitive ungulate families.Pakicetusenamel organization, which is considered primitive for Cetacea, consists of a combination of radial and decussating enamel types. Prism patterns include prisms with open (horseshoe-shaped) and closed (circular) boundaries.Pakicetusenamel is similar to that of many primitive ungulates, includingDiacodexis, the earliest artiodactyl, and Mesonychidae, an archaic ungulate family that often is considered close to the ancestry of Cetacea. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis, originally proposed on the basis of other aspects of morphology, that artiodactyls, cetaceans, and Mesonychidae are closely related.
New species of the Early Permian cerioid coral Kleopatrina from northwest Chihuahua, Mexico
Authors: Stevens Calvin H.
Published: August 2016

Early Permian massive corals define a narrow zone (the Thysanophyllum coral belt of Stevens, 1982) that surrounded the northern and western margins of Pangaea from the southern Ural Mountains through western North America to Bolivia (Stevens, 1982; Wilson, 1990). This belt appears to have been essentially continuous in the Wolfcampian, and although massive corals persisted along this belt into the Leonardian, they were restricted to many fewer localities.
Gigantospongia, new genus, the largest known Permian sponge, Capitan limestone, Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico
Authors: Rigby J. Keith , Senowbari-Daryan Baba
Published: August 2016

Several specimens of the large, discoidal, new inozoid genus and species, Gigantospongia discoforma, have been discovered in the Upper Permian, Upper Capitan Limestone in the northern Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico, near Carlsbad Caverns. The holotype is nearly 2.5 meters across, as exposed, and ranges from 8-20 mm thick, with numerous canals transverse and parallel to the principal plane. These canals are approximately 1 mm in diameter and separated by tracts 1-2 mm thick. Thickened dermal and gastral layers, each approximately 1 mm thick, occur at tops and bases of both the holotype and associated paratypes in the “Sponge Window” exposures of Bat Cave Draw, and in specimens from Chinaberry and Hackberry Draws. Inverted Lemonea conica Senowbari-Daryan, 1990, is apparently attached to the base, and appears to have grown inverted in a void formed or capped by the tabular inozoid. Well-preserved specimens of Amblysiphonella also appear inverted, as do examples of Lemonea cylindrica (Girty, 1908), a new species of Lemonea, and Guadalupia explanata (King, 1943), which occur between the holotype and an underlying paratype. All appear coated with Archaeolithoporella crusts. Microstructure of the inozoan skeleton is obscured by diagenesis.
The rudist Amphitriscoelus (Bivalvia-Hippuritacea) in the lower Cretaceous of southwestern Mexico
Authors: Alencaster Gloria , Pantoja-Alor Jerjes
Published: August 2016

The emended descriptions of the genus Amphitriscoelus and the species A. waringi Harris and Hodson are given, and a new species is proposed (A. pluriloculata). These rudist bivalves are derived from a thick Lower Cretaceous sequence of carbonate sediments interlayered with siliciclastic, volcaniclastic, and volcanic rocks in southwestern Mexico, near Huetamo, in the State of Michoacan. The species belong to a recently discovered rich fauna containing other rudists, nerineid gastropods, orbitolinid foraminifers, and calcareous algae. The fauna shows a close affinity with the Amphitriscoelus fauna of northern South America. Similar assemblages are also present in Texas, Cuba and other Mexican localities. The wide distribution of the fauna allows interpretation of paleogeographic relations among all the regions as well as interpretation of paleoecological similarities. The existence of an homogeneous large faunistic province during the Early Cretaceous is suggested.
Trilobites of the Lower Ordovician (Ibexian) Fort Cassin Formation, Champlain Valley region, New York State and Vermont
Authors: Brett Kevin D. , Westrop Stephen R.
Published: August 2016

The Lower Ordovician (Ibexian) Fort Cassin Formation of New York State and Vermont consists mainly of carbonates that were deposited in a subtidal storm-influenced setting. The low diversity trilobite fauna is dominated overwhelmingly by the isoteline,Isoteloides.Eleven species representing at least nine genera are described;Acidiphorus whittingtoniis new. The bathyurine genusGoniotelinaWhittington and Ross is regarded as paraphyletic and is synonymized withAcidiphorusRaymond. The presence ofIsoteloides canalis(Whitfield; =I. latimarginatusFortey),I. periFortey andBathyurellus platypusFortey indicates a correlation of the Fort Cassin with theStrigigenalis caudataZone of the Catoche Formation of western Newfoundland.
Early Pleistocene echinoids of the Manchioneal Formation, Jamaica
Authors: Donovan Stephen K. , Embden Brenda J.
Published: August 2016

The Manchioneal Formation of Jamaica has yielded a diverse fauna of Pleistocene echinoids. Taxa includeStylocidaris affinis(Philippi),Cidaris(Tretocidaris)bartletti(A. Agassiz),Eucidaris tribuloides(Lamarck), diadematid indet. gen. et sp., arbaciid indet. gen. et sp.,Echinoneus cyclostomusLeske,Echinolampas depressaGray,Clypeasterindet. sp. or spp.,Paleopneustes cristatusA. Agassiz, various indeterminate spatangoids and regular indet. gen. et spp. Taxonomically diverse echinoid faunas have now been documented from a range of facies in the Jamaican Pleistocene.Eucidaris tribuloidesis ubiquitous, but most taxa are limited to particular facies. Clypeasteroids are only locally common, despite the high preservation potential of their tests. Echinoid and crinoid taxa in the Manchioneal Formation suggest deposition in ≥ 100 m water depth, and probably shoaling upwards.
Hemphillian and Blancan Felids from central Mexico
Authors: Carranza-Castañeda Oscar , Miller Wade E.
Published: August 2016

Late Tertiary Carnivores are rare as reported in the fossil record for Mexico. The felids discussed in this paper from the state of Guanajuato represent the most diverse assemblage of this taxonomic group thus far known from the country. They include Machairodus cf. M. coloradensis, Pseudaelurus? intrepidus, and Felis cf. F. studeri. The last-named taxon has not previously been recognized from the late Tertiary of Mexico, and Pseudaelurus has only questionably been identified in the country (but not described or discussed). None of these taxa have yet been reported from areas further south. While age determinations for the above felids from Guanajuato were based on associated faunal constituents, especially abundant and diverse equids, the felids themselves can be useful as chronostratigraphic indicators.
The ichnotaxon Tasselia ordamensis and its junior synonym Caudichnus annulatus
Authors: Wetzel Andreas , Bromley Richard G.
Published: August 2016

In a recent paper D'Alessandro and Iannone (1993) introduced the new ichnogenus Caudichnus, with one ichnospecies Caudichnus annulatus, for drum-shaped trace fossils. The trace fossil comprises several structural elements and, in order to provide a uniform terminology, these elements are denned in Figure 1.