bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Early Carboniferous ophiuroids from Crawfordsville, Indiana
Authors: Jell Peter A.
Published: August 2016

Molds of numerous Early Carboniferous echinoderms collected by Christian van de Loo for James Hall in 1867 from four miles south of Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana and now in the collection of the New York State Museum have been examined using latex casting techniques. Described here are the ophiuroidsVandelooaster plicatilisnew genus and species,Schoenaster fimbriatusMeek and Worthen,Aganaster gregariusMeek and Worthen andLumectaster howellinew genus and species. The types ofCalyptactis confragosusMiller are redescribed for comparison. Nine crinoids, a blastoid, and an echinoid are recognized in van de Loo's collection; all have been recorded from Crawfordsville.
An unusual new trace fossil from the Lower Carboniferous of Ireland:Intexalvichnus magnus
Authors: Buckman J. O.
Published: August 2016

Intexalvichnus magnus,new ichnogenus and ichnospecies, is erected for material from the Lower Carboniferous of northwest Ireland. This ichnogenus is characterized by a horizontal primary basal gallery, from which a series of secondary near-vertical shafts originate on either side of the gallery.Intexalvichnus magnusis typified by vertical shafts occurring in offset closely packed pairs on either side of the horizontal gallery, and by their recurved conical morphology. Such material somewhat resemblesPhycodes,and in particular “Phycodes”pedum,although overall morphology and mode of construction distinguishI. magnusfromPhycodes(including “P.”pedum), warranting separate ichnogeneric status. Although forming monospecific associations,I. magnusoccurs within shallow-water deltaic sand-dominated facies with diverse ichnofaunal assemblages. Consideration of ichnofaunas from similar shallow-water paleoenvironments suggests thatI. magnusshould be globally and stratigraphically widespread. Perhaps because of its relatively large sizeI. magnushas been overlooked, or referred to other ichnogenera.
Permian nonmarine invertebrate trace fossils from southern Patagonia, Argentina: Ichnologic signatures of substrate consolidation and colonization sequences
Authors: Buatois Luis Alberto , Jalfin Guillermo , Aceñolaza Florencio G.
Published: August 2016

Floodplain deposits of the Permian Laguna Polino Member (La Golondrina Formation) of southern Patagonia, Argentina, contain a moderate diversity invertebrate ichnofauna. This member consists of up to 500 m of ripple cross-laminated and trough cross-bedded, medium-grained sandstone and mudstone, with some conglomerate. It records sedimentation in braided fluvial environments with moderate channel sinuosity. The system was characterized by the development of multistory channels, transverse or linguoid bars, and levees. At the Laguna Grande locality, trace fossils were recovered from current-rippled, very fine-grained muddy sandstone beds formed in a pond adjacent to the levee. The ichnofauna consists of a mixed pascichnia, repichnia, and domichnia assemblage composed of Cochlichnus anguineus, Ctenopholeus kutscheri, Helminthoidichnites tenuis, Helminthopsis abeli, and Palaeophycus striatus. These low-energy ponds were more suitable for development of benthic fauna and preservation of ichnofossils than were fluvial channels and point bars. Accordingly, preservation of distinct trace fossil-bearing pond horizons within an otherwise unfossiliferous fluvial succession may be regarded as taphonomic and colonization windows. The colonization history of these beds can be traced through the study of cross-cutting and substrate relationships. Detailed ichnologic analysis suggests the following succession: 1) large Cochlichnus tracemakers colonizing transitional soupgrounds to softgrounds; 2) large and small Cochlichnus, Helminthopsis and Helminthoidichnites formed in softgrounds; and 3) Palaeophycus and Ctenopholeus emplaced in transitional soft to firm substrates. The colonization sequence suggests an ecologic replacement of a surface mobile fauna dominated by nematodes, nematomorphs, and larval insects by a more stationary infauna consisting of adult insects as a result of increasing consolidation. Presence of Ctenopholeus is significant because it represents the second report of this ichnogenus and the first from nonmarine settings.
Soft tissue pigments of the Upper Mississippian chondrenchelyid, Harpagofututor volsellorhinus (Chondrichthyes, Holocephali) from the Bear Gulch Limestone, Montana, USA
Authors: Grogan Eileen D. , Lund Richard
Published: August 2016

Reexamination of the chondrenchelyid Harpagofututor volsellorhinus from the Bear Gulch Limestone (Health Formation, Upper Chesterian, Mississippian), has revealed that the preserved fossil pigments are those originally associated with particular, well-vascularized abdominal organs (liver, spleen, and gonads) and major venous sinuses (orbital, gonadal, pelvic). The pattern of pigment localization reflects circulatory pathways of fossilized vessels. This determination was confirmed by comparison of fossil patterns to the visceral and circulatory anatomy of extant chondrichthyans. The arrangement of these pigments conveys strong, and otherwise unavailable, evidence for the internal reproductive features of these sexually mature, Paleozoic chondrichthyans. Under the appropriate preservational conditions the pigments also reveal asphyxia as the cause of death. Thus, the value of these pigments cannot be underestimated. Unfortunately, they are prone to spontaneous and progressive degradation that starts immediately upon excavation. Consequently, it is imperative to record data accurately and in a timely fashion. This report thus introduces the use of a color flatbed scanner as a particularly effective laboratory research tool for the collection and archiving of ephemeral fossil data.
The skull of Anchitheriomys and a new subfamily of beavers (Castoridae, Rodentia)
Authors: Korth William W. , Emry Robert J.
Published: August 2016

A nearly complete skull of Anchitheriomys from the Miocene of Nebraska allows description of the cranial foramina. In skull characters, Anchitheriomys most closely resembles Agnotocastor and Neatocastor among castorids; it retains primitive features that it shares with eutypomyids (position of the posterior palatine foramina, smooth palatal surface, nearly parallel tooth rows, retention of dP3) combined with derived features (elongate rostrum, procumbent incisors) that are shared only with Agnotocastor and Neatocastor. A new subfamily, Agnotocastorinae, is erected for this group of primitive beavers.
Tentaculites(Tentaculitoidea) from the Manlius Limestone (Lower Devonian) at Schoharie, New York
Authors: Lindemann Richard H. , Melycher David A.
Published: August 2016

Echinus gyracanthusEaton, 1832, was the first tentaculitid reported from North America, but the original description and illustration are vague by present-day standards. Study of the type material and topotypes from the Lower Devonian Manlius Limestone in the Town of Schoharie, New York, suggests thatTentaculites gyracanthus(Eaton) is a discrete species, but one with pronounced and remarkable intraspecific variability.Tentaculites simmondsinew species also occurs in the same unit and locality.
Pennsylvanian nuculoids (Bivalvia) from the Ixtaltepec Formation, Oaxaca, Mexico
Authors: Quiroz-Barroso Sara A. , del Carmen Perrilliat Maria
Published: August 2016

Five species of nuculoid bivalves are described from Pennsylvanian outcrops of the Ixtaltepec Formation, Oaxaca, Mexico: Nuculopsis sp., Palaeoneilo sinuosus new species, Paleyoldia sp., Phestia bellistriata, and Phestia sp. have been collected in clastic rocks and in association with other marine invertebrate groups, which represent a peri-reefal environment.
Ontogeny of the proetoid trilobiteStenoblepharum,and relationships of a new species from the Upper Ordovician of Argentina
Authors: Edgecombe Gregory D. , Chatterton Brian D. E. , Vaccari Norberto E. , Waisfeld Beatriz G.
Published: August 2016

Silicified material from the Early Caradoc part of the Las Aguaditas Formation in San Juan Province, Argentina, includes a nearly complete growth series for a new species of the tropidocoryphidStenoblepharumOwens, 1973. Cladistic analysis ofStenoblepharumspecies indicates thatS. astiniinew species is most closely allied to the Early CaradocS. strasburgense(Cooper, 1953) from Virginia. Chinese species ofStenoblepharumare sister group to a Baltic/Laurentian clade. A single adult-like protaspid stage occurs in the life cycle ofS. astinii,closely resembling the protaspis ofDecoroproetus.It is preceded by a non-adult-like first protaspid instar that appears to be characteristic of Proetoidea in general but contrasts markedly with the early larval stages of other taxa in Proetida.
Homocrinid crinoids from the Upper Ordovician of northern Iowa and southern Minnesota
Authors: Brower James C.
Published: August 2016

Three homocrinid crinoids from the Upper Ordovician Maquoketa Formation of northern Iowa and southern Minnesota are described: Ectenocrinus simplex (Hall), Drymocrinus strimplei new species, and Sygcaulocrinus typus Ulrich. Ectenocrinus simplex is relatively abundant, geographically widespread in the Appalachians and midcontinent of North America, and long-ranging in time (Middle Ordovician Shermanian to Upper Ordovician Maysvillian). The aboral cup of ectenocrinids underwent transpositional allometry during its evolution so that juvenile cups from the Upper Ordovician Maquoketa Formation resemble the adult cups of ancestral individuals from the Middle Ordovician. Sygcaulocrinus typus exhibits a unique expanded proximal stem consisting of three-to-five large columnals throughout its post-larval development. These columnals are rigidly joined to the aboral cup. Consequently, the proximal generative zone for new columnals is displaced below the proximal part of the stem. In addition, the columnals in the proximal stem of S. typus mainly grow with stong positive allometry with respect to the aboral cup. Essentially, the growth vectors of the proximal columnals converge on those of the aboral cup plates.
A new ichthyosaur from the Tithonian (Late Jurassic) of the Neuquén Basin, northwestern Patagonia, Argentina
Authors: Fernández M. S.
Published: August 2016

A large ichthyosaur from the Early Tithonian (Late Jurassic) of the Neuquén province, Argentina, represents a new genus and species, Caypullisaurus bonapartei, within the family Ichthyosauridae. The holotype is the most complete skeleton of a mature ichthyosaur known to date from the Jurassic of South America. In comparison with other Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs, the new taxon shares a long and slender rostrum, degenerate dentition in adults, and the enlargement of the orbit with Ophthalmosaurus. Unlike Ophthalmosaurus, the forefin of Caypullisaurus has four major digits composed of tightly packed, polygonal phalanges, and pre- and post-axial accessory digits. Caypullisaurus demonstrates that ichthyosaurs were more diverse during the Late Jurassic than thought previously.
Reconstruction of a cyathiform Eugonophyllum, Upper Pennsylvanian, Palo Pinto County, Texas
Authors: Torres Andrew M.
Published: August 2016

Species of Eugonophyllum (Codiaceae, Chlorophyta) have traditionally been characterized as phylloid or leaf-like. But a reconstruction of well preserved specimens of Eugonophyllum, probably E. johnsonii Konishi and Wray, from Upper Pennsylvanian limestone formations of Palo Pinto County, Texas, indicates it was cyathiform or cup-shaped. Reconstruction was based on the forms of membranes as seen in sections and on partial excavation of thalli. This Eugonophyllum shared with congeneric species of Eugonophyllum the characteristic two-layered cortex (outer and inner), and with other codiaceans the same general membrane structure consisting of bilateral cortices with palisades of utricles now filled with micrite, and a medulla of tubular coenocytes, an area now mostly filled with mosaic sparry calcite. A cyathiform thallus would have inner and outer cortices but no differences were found in the structure of the inner and outer cortical utricular casts. The thalli were apparently anchored with elongated, cylindrical holdfasts. Internal spherical structures, presumably developed from differentiated utricles, may have been zygotes or young embryos from an oogamous fertilization. These were apparently released to the environment through the membrane.
The origin and early evolution of theMontastraea “annularis”species complex (Anthozoa: Scleractinia)
Authors: Budd Ann F. , Klaus James S.
Published: August 2016

This study represents the first in a series tracing the early evolution of a dominant Caribbean reef coral, theMontastraea “annularis”species complex, using a combination of morphometric and phylogenetic approaches. It focuses on Costa Rica and Panama; additional geographic locations and reef environments will be treated in subsequent work. To distinguish species, new landmark methods are developed by comparisons with genetically characterized modern colonies from Panama. The fossil material consists of transverse thin-sections of 94 well-preserved specimens ofM. annularis-like corals collected in Plio-Pleistocene reef sequences in the Limón basin of Costa Rica and the Bocas del Toro basin of Panama. The landmarks comprise 27 spatially homologous points, which define the thickness and structure of the corallite wall and associated costosepta. Bookstein size and shape coordinates are analyzed using cluster analysis and canonical discriminant analysis, and a total of 10 morphotypes are distinguished. Cladistic analyses are performed using characters derived partially from morphometric data. A matrix consisting of 16 taxa and eight characters is analyzed using global parsimony and a sister group of two species as the outgroup. The results reveal two distinct evolutionary groups, which are distinguished by the new corallite wall characters. One group contains one modern species, and the other contains a second; the relationships of the third are poorly resolved.

Despite the low number of equally parsimonious trees, high numbers of plesiomorphic taxa, long range extensions, and lack of agreement with genetic data indicate that the new characters alone are inadequate for completely interpreting evolutionary relationships, and more samples and characters are needed. Nevertheless, these preliminary results do show that three modern species of theM. “annularis”complex arose prior to accelerated extinction at the end of late Pliocene to early Pleistocene faunal turnover of Caribbean reef corals, and two may have originated younger than 4 Ma. Six or more new species may be represented in upper Pliocene to lower Pleistocene sequences in Costa Rica and Panama. Coexistence of predominantly pre- and post-turnover clades may have been responsible for the high diversity observed within the species complex in these two sequences.
The mandible of the primitive tetrapod Greererpeton, and the early evolution of the tetrapod lower jaw
Authors: Bolt John R. , Lombard R. Eric
Published: August 2016

Exceptionally well-preserved Late Mississippian colosteid amphibian specimens occur in southern Illinois; the mandible is described here. Unexpectedly primitive features include toothed adsymphysial and intercoronoid fossa with fenestrate floor. The large adsymphysial bears teeth, forms 50 percent of the symphysis, and meets its antimere in a very coarsely rugose suture. These and other characters are shown to occur also in Greererpeton burkemorani, to which we refer the Illinois specimens. Colosteid mandibles from a Late Mississippian locality in southern Iowa resemble G. burkemorani closely, although they are not conspecific. Our findings are summarized in a PRESERVE-format data table containing 226 characters. G. burkemorani's adsymphysial suture morphology is shared with the baphetid Megalocephalus pachycephalus. However, the relationship of colosteids to other Paleozoic amphibian groups remains unclear, beyond their position as stem tetrapods. The single elongate Meckelian fenestra of colosteids is likely primitive for tetrapods. A three-stage model is proposed for the evolution of Meckelian fenestrae in tetrapods. Based on sutural morphology, G. burkemorani is considered to have a kinetic joint between skull table and cheek. A functional hypothesis is outlined in which movements at this joint are accommodated at the symphysis. A phylogenetically based test of this hypothesis is proposed.
Lower Devonian (Lochkovian) Stromatoporoidea from the Coeymans Formation of Central New York
Authors: Stock Carl W.
Published: August 2016

Stromatoporoids are found in the Dayville and Deansboro Members of the Coeymans Formation in central New York, where they are common to rare. The most common species present areHabrostroma centrotum(Girty) andH. microporum(Girty). Present in lesser numbers areParallelostroma foveolatum(Girty),Atopostromasp. 1, A. sp. 2,Coenostromacf.C. monticuliferum(Winchell),Coenostromasp.,Habrostromacf.H. centrotum(Girty), andCoenostelodictyoncf.C. krekovi(Yavorsky). Although previously reported from the Coeymans,Coenostelodictyon jewetti(Girty) was not found. Species identifications were based on traditional qualitative methods, supplemented by statistics. The assemblage bears affinities with Lochkovian faunas in Virginia and the Canadian Arctic.
Early Cambrian Lingulellotreta (Lingulata, Brachiopoda) from South Kazakhstan (Malyi Karatau Range) and South China (Eastern Yunnan)
Authors: Holmer Lars E. , Popov Leonid E. , Koneva Svetlana P. , Jia-Yu Rong
Published: August 2016

“Lingulepis’ malongensis Rong from the upper part of the Lower Cambrian Chiungchussu Formation of Yunnan is referred to Lingulellotreta Koneva; L. malongensis (=Lingulellotreta ergalievi Koneva) is redescribed on the basis of new material from the Lower Cambrian of south Kazakhstan. It is the earliest known taxon of the Lingulellotretidae, which is unique within the Linguloidea in having an elongate pedicle foramen and internal pedicle tube. The occurrence of Lingulellotreta malongensis in south China is considered usually to be of Atdabanian age, but brachiopod based correlation with south Kazakhstan suggests that a possible Botomian or younger age, for both the upper part of Chiungchussu Formation in Yunnan and the lowermost part of Shabakty Group in the Malyi Karatau Range, is equally plausible.
Middle Cambrian fossils from Tizi N'Tichka, the High Atlas, Morocco. Part 1. Introduction and trilobites
Authors: Geyer Gerd , Malinky John M.
Published: August 2016

New finds of the trilobitesCobboldites tichkaensisGeyer, 1988,Pseudocobboldia pulchra(Hupé, 1953),Protolenus(Protolenus)densigranulatusGeyer, 1990,Latoucheia(Latoucheia)tichkaensisHupé, 1953, andAcanthomicmacca neltneriHupé, 1953, from the basal Middle Cambrian near the peak of Tizi n'Tichka in the central High Atlas, Morocco, supplement the known morphology of these species; the trilobitesAcanthomicmaccanew species,Oreisator tichkaensisnew genus and species, and“Parasolenopleura”sp. from that locality are new.Acanthomicmacca neltneriis the first species of the genus and family that is described and figured in detail in terms of morphologic plasticity and ontogeny;Oreisator tichkaensisis the first ptychopariacean trilobite formally described and based on material from Africa. Trilobites and other fossils from the locality suggest a strong affinity to other Mediterranean and to Avalonian faunas, which is well supported by helcionelloid and hyolith genera.
Lower Devonian aulacopleuroidean trilobites from Oklahoma
Authors: Adrain Jonathan M. , Kloc Gerald J.
Published: August 2016

New aulacopleuroidean trilobites from the Lochkovian of Oklahoma include the otarionineCyphaspis carrollinew species from the Haragan Formation, and the brachymetopidCordania wessmaninew species from the overlying Bois d'Arc Formation.Cyphaspis carrolliis the first record of the genus from the North American Devonian. It is a highly plesiomorphic species, dissimilar to contemporaries from Europe, but closely related to Silurian species from Northern Laurentia and England.Cordania wessmanihad previously been interpreted as a possible sexual dimorph ofCordania falcataWhittington, 1960, but new material and information shows that the forms occur separately with no stratigraphic overlap. New information on trilobite occurrence in the Haragan and Bois d'Arc Formations does not support previous hypotheses of trilobite sexual dimorphism, but rather indicates the presence of distinct, stratigraphically successive faunas.
Middle Triassic radiolarians from West Timor, Indonesia
Authors: Sashida K. , Kamata Y. , Adachi S. , Munasri
Published: August 2016

Moderately well-preserved Middle Triassic radiolarians were recovered from bedded limestone exposed at about 3 km west of Kefamenanu, West Timor, Indonesia. This limestone probably from the Aitutu Formation is considered to be an allochthonous block and is embedded in the Neogene Bobonaro Complex. The radiolarian fauna in this limestone is characterized by abundant radiolarians of typical Tethyan forms and is identical to that of the early Fassanian (early Ladinian) of European Tethys and other related faunas reported from the Philippines, Russian Far East, and Japan. The Aitutu Formation is thought to be deposited in an ocean environment dominated by a warm-water current system originating from the low latitude Tethyan realm. Fifty-nine species belonging to 34 genera, including five unidentified genera, are systematically treated, among them, five new species; Parentactinia suparkai, Pseudostylosphaera timorensis, Cryptostephanidium? megaspinosum, Tetrarchiplagia compacta, and Planospinocyrtis kefaensis.
Review of fossil abalone (Gastropoda: Vetigastropoda: Haliotidae) with comparison to Recent species
Authors: Geiger Daniel L. , Groves Lindsey T.
Published: August 2016

Compared to their Recent counterparts, fossil abalone are rare and poorly known. Their taxonomy is problematic, because most of the 35 fossil species have been described from single specimens and shell characteristics of Recent species are extremely plastic. Thus, the use of fossil species in phylogeny is questionable. Abalone first appear in the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichian) with one species each in California and the Caribbean, are unknown in the Paleocene, and appear again in the late Eocene and Oligocene of New Zealand and Europe. They are regularly found from the late Miocene to the Recent in tropical to temperate regions worldwide. Most records are from intensely studied areas: SW North America, Caribbean, Europe, South Africa, Japan, and Australia. Despite their highest present-day diversity being found in the Indo-Pacific, their scarcity in the fossil record in this region is remarkable. The family may have originated in the central Indo-Pacific, Pacific Rim, or Tethys. An extensive list of all known fossil records including new ones from Europe and western North America is given. Fossil and Recent abalone both apparently lived in the shallow, rocky sublittoral in tropical and temperate climates. No on-shore/off-shore pattern is detected.
Northernmost record of brontotheres, Axel Heiberg Island, Canada—Implications for age of the Buchanan Lake Formation and brontothere paleobiology
Authors: Eberle Jaelyn J. , Storer John E.
Published: August 2016

Eocene land vertebrates are rare, relatively recent, discoveries in the Canadian Arctic islands. The first were discovered in 1975 in Eocene-aged strata of the Eureka Sound Group, western Ellesmere Island, and reported by Dawson et al. (1976). Subsequent discoveries occurred in the 1980s in similar-aged strata on both Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg islands (Dawson, 1990; Dawson et al., 1993), bringing the tally of vertebrate families to over 30 (Marincovich et al., 1990; Dawson, 1990). The vertebrate fauna provides strong evidence for a mild, equable Arctic climate during the Eocene (Estes and Hutchison, 1980), corroborated by the paleoflora (Axelrod, 1984; Basinger, 1986, 1991). Supporting this interpretation, the isotopically-determined mean ocean surface temperature at 70°N was a mild 10-15°, a far cry from today's mean of −10° (Barron, 1987; Shackleton and Boersma, 1981; McKenna, 1980).
Ordovician chitinozoan zonation of Quebec and western Newfoundland
Authors: Achab Aicha
Published: August 2016

The purpose of this paper is to propose a chitinozoan zonation of the Ordovician of Quebec and western Newfoundland. On the basis of chitinozoan assemblages previously described from various sections, covering almost the entire Ordovician System, 22 biozones, based on first appearance of index species, are distinguished. As the strata from which the chitinozoan microfaunas were extracted are well dated by other fossils, especially graptolites, it is possible to establish a correlation between the chitinozoan and the established graptolite and conodont zonations of North America and Great Britain.
A new pseudolivine gastropod genus from the lower Tertiary of North America
Authors: Squires Richard L.
Published: August 2016

A new genus, Calorebama, is proposed for a clade of pseudolivine gastropods (family Buccinidae) that has its earliest species in the lower Paleocene (Danian) of Alabama, its next earliest species in the upper Paleocene (Thanetian) of Alabama, and its subsequent species in the Eocene of California, Oregon, and Washington. Calorebama is characterized by an inflated biconical shape, a biangulate body whorl usually with strong nodes on the shoulder, and fine to medium spiral ribbing that is coarser anterior to the medial pseudolivine groove.

Previously, these pseudolivines now being placed in Calorebama were assigned to the genus Pseudoliva. Study of the literature and every available museum specimen showed Calorebama to have five species and two subspecies, all of which have biostratigraphic integrity.

Calorebama unicarinata (Aldrich) is the earliest species, and it, along with C. tuberculifera (Conrad), are the only known Gulf Coast species. Calorebama dilleri dilleri (Dickerson) is the earliest representative of the genus on the West Coast of North America, and it arrived during the early Eocene (Ypresian). Probable geographic isolation of C. dilleri dilleri in central and southern California resulted in lineage splitting and the appearance of C. dilleri lineata (Gabb), which phyletically evolved into C. inornata (Dickerson). Calorebama dilleri dilleri persisted in northern California and phyletically evolved into C. dilleri kirbyi (Clark), which similarly evolved into C. volutaeformis (Gabb).

Calorebama inornata and C. volutaeformis, the youngest species of the genus, became widely distributed along the West Coast of North America before becoming extinct by the end of the earliest late Eocene.
A new Late Cretaceous (Campanian–Maastrichtian) amiid (Halecomorphi: Actinopterygii) from the Fruitland Formation, San Juan Basin, New Mexico
Authors: Hall Jean P. , Wolberg Donald L.
Published: August 2016

Amia? chauliodeia, a new amiid fish from the Late Cretaceous Fruitland Formation of the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, is described from material that includes vertebral centra, elements of the mandibular arch, dermal skull roof, palatal complex, hyoid arch, pectoral girdle, branchial apparatus, ribs, and both pelvic basipterygia. The new form differs from previously described amiiforms in the length of the dentary tooth row, in the anterior thickness of the dentary, and in the apparent lack of internal sensory canals in the dentary and angular. The New Mexico amiid also retains a primitive metapterygoid. Although the new form shares several features in common with the Late Cretaceous amiid Melvius thomasi described by Bryant (1987), it is unquestionably distinct from this form. Material from the Fruitland and Kirtland Formations of New Mexico referred by Bryant (1987) to M. thomasi is now included within Amia? chauliodeia.
A new genus of aporrhaid gastropod from southern California
Authors: Loch James D.
Published: August 2016

A paleoecological study of the Point Loma Formation (Upper Cretaceous, southern California) resulted in the discovery of a new genus assigned to the gastropod family Aporrhaidae. The individuals recovered provide the basis for the designation ofTenepositan. gen. based uponT. laevan. sp.Tenepositais characterized by two delicate labral digitations, a short opposing digitation, and elongate anterior and posterior canals.Teneposita laevais one of the smallest aporrhaids yet described.
Growth of the xenomorphic crinoid column (Taxocrinus, Late Mississippian)
Authors: Wulff Julie I. , Ausich William I.
Published: August 2016

Two alternative hypotheses for proximal column growth are tested in Taxocrinus cf. T. whitfieldi, a late Mississippian flexible crinoid. The first hypothesis states that new columnals are added at the base of the proximal column (immediately above the generating columnal), whereas the second hypothesis has columnals of the proximal column inserted beneath the aboral cup. In both hypotheses, middle column columnals are inserted beneath the generating columnal and are independent from the proximal column.

External features used to determine points of columnal insertion include wedge-shaped columnals and sharp changes in columnar morphology. Sagittal sections reveal the presence of small columnals, some of which can be interpreted as the last columnals inserted prior to death. Data collected on Taxocrinus cf. T. whitfieldi confirm the first hypothesis. This hypothesis may be applicable to other crinoids with xenomorphic columns.
The tibia and tarsus in Herrerasauridae (Dinosauria, incertae sedis) and the origin and evolution of the dinosaurian tarsus
Authors: Novas Fernando E.
Published: August 2016

The tarsus and distal end of the tibia are described in Herrerasauridae, a family that includes the oldest known dinosaurs. This tarsal configuration is compared to those of more advanced dinosaurs and to other archosaurs. Through phylogenetic analysis of the morphological characters, a picture emerges of the evolutionary changes in the ankles of early dinosaurs.

The tibia of the herrerasaurids has a quadrangular distal articular surface, with a shallow ventrolateral notch. This morphology is strikingly similar to that of the lagosuchid thecodontsPseudolagosuchusandLagosuchusand represents the most primitive tibial condition known for Dinosauria.

Aside from the derived states possessed by Theropoda, Sauropodomorpha, and Ornithischia, respectively, it was impossible to recognize synapomorphies in tibiotarsal anatomy shared by these groups exclusive of Herrerasauridae. The transverse broadening of the distal end of the tibia seems to have been attained independently by ornithischians, theropods, and sauropodomorphs.

The tarsus of herrerasaurids is characterized by an astragalus with a small but conspicuous lateroventral depression, by a pyramidal calcaneum with a ventromedial projection that articulates into the cavity of the astragalus just mentioned, and by a posterolaterally directed calcaneal tuber. These characters are also seen inLagosuchus(a close relative of dinosaurs), in the prosauropodRiojasaurusand, insofar as the astragalus is concerned, in the primitive dinosaurWalkeria, which suggests that dinosaurs of different lineages shared the same tarsal condition.

By definition, this type of articulation between the astragalus and calcaneum follows the “crocodile-reversed” tarsal condition, suggesting that the tarsus in lagosuchids and dinosaurs could be derived from the “crocodile-reversed” pattern present in Ornithosuchidae andEuparkeria. In contrast, the mesotarsal ankle of lagosuchids and dinosaurs lacks the synapomorphies of the “crocodile-normal” ankle present in Crocodylia, Rauisuchidae, Aetosauria, and other archosaurs.

It is concluded that Herrerasauridae retained the primitive tibiotarsal condition for Dinosauria, from which those of the Ornithischia, Sauropodomorpha, and Theropoda were derived. Furthermore, tibiotarsal anatomy supports monophyly of Dinosauria.
Coral microatolls and a probable Middle Ordovician example
Authors: Kobluk David R. , Noor Iqbal
Published: August 2016

A disk-shaped massive colony of Tetradium, from the Middle Ordovician Bobcaygeon Formation in southern Ontario, displays features of a coral microatoll. This is the first pre-Holocene coral microatoll yet described, indicating that some tabulate corals in level-bottom communities were growing as microatolls as do many modern colonial skeleton-secreting organisms.

The microatoll therefore is not strictly a Quaternary or even Cenozoic phenomenon, but has a fossil record that may span most of the Phanerozoic. This indicates that the special conditions necessary for microatoll growth have existed outside of reef environments, and were present before the advent of scleractinian coral reefs. It may be possible to use ancient microatolls to estimate absolute water depths at low tide, thereby providing a means for estimating maximum water depths on a local and regional scale.
New early Eocene marine gastropods from Baja California Sur, Mexico
Authors: Squires Richard L. , Demetrion Robert
Published: August 2016

Three gastropod species are described from a previously unknown shallow-marine molluscan fauna in the lower Eocene Bateque Formation, southwest of San Ignacio, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Velates batequensis n. sp., a commonly occurring neritid in the Bateque, is the only ribbed Velates known from the Western Hemisphere. The fairly rare Platyoptera pacifica n. sp. is the earliest record of this strombid genus and its first occurrence on the west coast of North America. The very rare Cypraedia sp. is also the first occurrence of this cypraeid-like genus on the west coast of North America.
Balanoid barnacles from the Miocene of the Alaska Peninsula, and their relevance to the extant boreal barnacle fauna
Authors: Zullo Victor A. , Marincovich Louie
Published: August 2016

The barnacle fauna of the Miocene Bear Lake Formation of the Alaska Peninsula includesChirona(Chirona)alaskanan. sp., and three species ofBalanusDa Costa conspecific with or related to the extant speciesBalanus balanus(Linnaeus),B. nubilusDarwin, andB. crenatus(Bruguière). Although the Bear Lake fauna lived in warm temperate waters, its modern counterparts are found primarily in boreo-arctic and cool temperate regions of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans. Miocene barnacle faunas in Japan are similar to those of the Alaska Peninsula, lacking relatives ofB. nubilus, but includingSemibalanusPilsbry, which does not appear until the Pleistocene in the eastern Pacific. Elements of this boreo-Arctic fauna do not appear in the North Atlantic basin until the Pleistocene, suggesting migration of the fauna into the Atlantic with the opening of the Bering Straits.
The Early Silurian myelodactylid crinoid Eomyelodactylus Foerste
Authors: Eckert James D.
Published: August 2016

Two new species of Eomyelodactylus, E. sparteus and E. uniformis, are described from the Lower Silurian of New York. Macnamaratylus murrayi Bolton from the Lower Silurian of Ontario, Canada, is redescribed and assigned to Eomyelodactylus. Together, these species permit detailed description of this poorly known myelodactylid genus.
Ichnofacies and bathymetry: a passive relationship
Authors: Frey Robert W. , Pemberton S. George , Saunders Thomas D. A.
Published: August 2016

Ichnofacies stand today as one of the more elegant but widely misunderstood concepts in ichnology, especially where paleobathymetry is concerned. Marine ichnofacies arenotintended to be paleobathometers, as some workers continue to imply (e.g., Lockley et al., 1987; Ekdale, 1988); rather, they are archetypical facies models based upon recurring ichnocoenoses (Frey and Pemberton, 1984, 1985, 1987). If a particular ichnocoenose tends to occur repeatedly within a given bathymetric setting, so much the better; but water depth per se is rarely, if ever, a governing factor. Ichnocoenoses and ichnofacies, therefore, are best viewed in the context of actual depositional conditions or environmental gradients, wherever they occur (Figure 1).
Two fossil adult cockroaches (Blattaria) from the Cretaceous of Minnesota
Authors: Manske Llewellyn L. , Lewis Standley E.
Published: August 2016

Two fossil wing specimens from adult cockroaches (order Blattaria) were discovered during field investigations at the Cretaceous outcrop of the Cobb's Creek site (NE1/4, sec. 4, T109N, R30W; Brown County) near New Ulm, Minnesota. Prior to the present investigation, no adult fossil insect parts from Minnesota have been described from deposits as old as the Cretaceous. Lewis (1970) described immature caddisfly cases (Trichoptera) from the Cobb's Creek site.
The first reported middle Eocene sponge from India; aRaphidonemafrom the Fulra Limestone Formation, Kutch, India
Authors: Rigby J. Keith , Mohanti Manmohan
Published: August 2016

A single specimen of the new sponge,Raphidonema indican. sp., is the first Eocene sponge to be reported from India. It was collected from the Fulra Limestone Formation at Lakhpat, Kutch, India. The undulating, cup-like sponge is most similar toR. farringdonense(Sharpe, 1854), but the Indian species has a clustered, mounded excurrent system and numerous tangential canals on the upper, exhalant surface. Skeletal tracts inRaphidonema indicaare 0.4–0.5 mm in diameter, in walls that are generally 12–14 mm, but range up to 18 mm thick.
The Pennsylvanian gastropodDonaldinaKnight in the Appalachian Basin, eastern U.S.A.
Authors: Anderson J. R. , Hoare R. D. , Sturgeon M. T.
Published: August 2016

Specimens of the gastropod genusDonaldinaare numerous throughout marine units of the Pottsville, Allegheny, and Conemaugh Groups in the Appalachian Basin. Six species ofDonaldinafrom thirteen marine units are described. New species proposed areDonaldina quadroliratus, from Pottsville and Allegheny units, andDonaldina superclivis, from Conemaugh units.
Patellogastropods (Mollusca) from the Eocene Tejon Formation of southern California
Authors: Lindberg David R. , Squires Richard L.
Published: August 2016

Collections from the basal part of the marine Eocene Tejon Formation, Tehachapi Mountains, southern California, reveal new stratigraphic occurrences of patellogastropod limpets. Reports of these gastropods from California Paleogene strata are uncommon. The Tejon limpets are all members of the tropical genus Patelloida. Four taxa are represented in 33 specimens from five localities. These taxa include: mature specimens of P. tejonensis (Gabb, 1869), the first occurrence of the Eocene P. vokesi (Hickman, 1980) outside of Oregon, and P. triquetrus n. sp., described herein. Our study shows that a hypotype referred to P. tejonensis by Anderson and Hanna in 1925 is actually a fissurelloidean species, and we tentatively reallocate it to the genus Megathura Pilsbry, 1890. Analysis of depositional settings indicates that nearshore, shallow-subtidal depositional environments have higher patellogastropod abundance and diversity than intertidal or offshore-subtidal depositional environments. Morphological convergence between Tejon and Recent patellogastropod taxa is documented. Resemblance of the Eocene P. triquetrus n. sp. and an indeterminate Patelloidea sp. to the Quaternary “Collisella” scabra (Gould, 1846) and Lottia digitalis (Rathke, 1833), respectively, is remarkable.
Rhamphidoceras saxatilisn. gen. and sp., a micromorph ammonite from the lower Turonian of Trans-Pecos Texas
Authors: Kennedy W. J. , Cobban W. A.
Published: August 2016

Over the past few years, the authors, along with colleagues, have documented the late Cenomanian and early Turonian ammonite faunas of the Western Interior region of the United States and its extension into Texas (Cobban, 1987, 1988a, 1988b; Cobban and Hook, 1983; Cobban et al., 1989; Kennedy, 1988; Kennedy and Cobban, 1988a, 1988b; Kennedy et al., 1989; Kennedy et al., 1987; Kennedy and Cobban, 1989, 1990). In these works the authors have recognized a series of micromorph genera and species, taxa that are genuinely diminutive and adult at diameters of 6.5–38 mm. These taxa show characteristic features indicating them to be adult, such as crowding of septa and reduction or loss of ornament at or near the aperture. Where large numbers of specimens are available, dimorphism can be demonstrated (as inNannometoicocerasKennedy, 1988, p. 63, withMetoicoceras acceleratumHyatt, 1903, p. 127, PI. 14, figs. 11–14, as type species) so that they are indeed micromorphs, not simply juveniles or microconchs of “normal-sized” taxa. Such micromorphs are known from other parts of the world (e.g.,ProtacanthocerasSpath, 1923; see Wright and Kennedy, 1980, 1987; Kennedy and Wright, 1985;LymanicerasMatsumoto, 1965, andHaborocerasToshimitsu, 1988). Not uncommonly, these micromorphs are found associated with “normal-sized” taxa that have similar early ontogenetic stages to the co-occurring micromorph. There is little doubt that the evolutionary origin of these small forms was through progenesis and precocious sexual maturation in which the early developmental stage of the ancestral taxon is preserved to a much later developmental stage of the descendant. The latter matured at much smaller size, and new characters are present in the latest phragmocone and body chamber, or sometimes only in the latter. These micromorphs are not unique to the Western Interior seaway, but are better represented there than elsewhere. This may simply be due to the remarkable preservation in concretions in the mudrocks of the Interior sequence, or it may reflect a repeated evolutionary strategy to deal with the stresses of the atypical environments developed there (Hattin, 1986). It also perhaps removed some of the taxa concerned from competition for trophic resources with their “normal-sized” contemporaries, although it could equally be argued that it turned them into suitably sized prey.
The brachiopodPtychopleurella lapworthi(Davidson) from the Ordovician of Girvan, S.W. Scotland
Authors: Harper D. A. T.
Published: August 2016

The small, distinctive, glyptorthinine brachiopodPtychopleurellaSchuchert and Cooper is widely distributed in rocks of early Ordovician to late Silurian age. Several species are known from the Barr and Ardmillan successions (middle-upper Ordovician) of the Girvan district, S.W. Scotland, one of which,‘Orthis Lapworthi’Davidson, has not been described in modern terms as there has been some confusion concerning its true identity. Recognition of this species ofPtychopleurellapermits comparison with congeners elsewhere, strengthens the correlation of this part of the Girvan Succession with the middle Ordovician of North America, and provides a more complete record of this genus in the slope sedimentary facies of the northwestern margin of the Iapetus Ocean.
Murthya, a new genus of Ostracoda from the Lower Miocene beds of India
Authors: Khosla S. C. , Mehra S. , Nagori M. L.
Published: August 2016

Murthya, a new ostracode genus of Cytherinae, is proposed for the species previously described as Leptocythere chadopadiensis Lyubimova and Guha from the Lower Miocene beds of Kachchh District, India. The genus also occurs in the Lower Miocene beds of Saurashtra, Quilon, and Thanjavur.
Holotype snout elements of Saniwa ensidens reassigned to cf. Restes sp. indet (Xenosauridae)
Authors: Caldwell Michael W.
Published: August 2016

During the field season of 1870, F. V. Hayden collected a number of sandstone blocks that contained the remains of a large fossil lizard (Middle Eocene Bridger Formation, Sweetwater County, Wyoming). Though mostly unprepared, the visible bones were described by Leidy (1870) as Saniwa ensidens (USNM 2185; holotype). Fifty years later all the blocks associated with USNM 2185 were prepared prior to Gilmore's (1922) more complete description of Saniwa ensidens and his assignment of the taxon to the Varanoidea. Gilmore (1922) notes that the skeletal remains in the blocks were partially disarticulated to dissociated despite the excellent articulation of some components (e.g., palatal elements and right and left maxillary fragments [Gilmore, 1922, p. 809; pl. 1). Gilmore (1928) altered the diagnosis of Saniwa ensidens (USNM 2185) by adding characterizations of a premaxilla, right and left anterior maxillary fragments, and anterior tips of the dentaries. Gilmore (1928, p. 57) stated that these missing elements were found after further preparation of the blocks when the type specimen was mounted for display.
Generic concepts in the Amphoracrinidae Bather, 1899 (Class Crinoidea) and evaluation of generic assignments of North American species
Authors: Ausich William I. , Kammer Thomas W.
Published: August 2016

The Amphoracrinidae Bather, 1899 is redefined, and all genera of this family are diagnosed with objective characters. Dilatocrinus Webster and Lane, 1987 and Pimlicocrinus Wright, 1943 are transferred into the Amphoracrinidae. Type specimens that define Displodocrinus Webster and Lane, 1987 and Dilatocrinus Webster and Lane, 1987 are clarified. The emphasis here is on genus definition, and comprehensive species-level systematics is not attempted. However, Amphoracrinus blairi Miller and Gurley, 1896a and Amphoracrinus jessieae Miller and Gurley, 1896b are designated nomina dubia; Sampsonocrinus sp. Webster and Lane, 1987 is reassigned to Amphoracrinus rupinus Webster and Lane, 1987; Amphoracrinus divergens var. multiramosus (Meek and Worthen, 1866) is reassigned to Dilatocrinus multiramosus (Meek and Worthen, 1866); and Sunwaptacrinus nevadensis Webster and Lane, 1987 is reassigned to Displodocrinus nevadensis (Webster and Lane, 1987).
The youngest cambroclaves: Cambroclavus absonus from the Middle Cambrian of the Cantabrian Zone (northwest Spain)
Authors: Wotte Thomas
Published: August 2016

Cambroclayes are Cambrian phosphatized problematica. The group is known from spine-like remains that are locally abundant on a number of Cambrian paleocontinents. Cambroclaves are known through a relatively short time interval (late Early Cambrian-early Middle Cambrian) mostly from tropical, carbonate platform successions on the Siberian Platform, East Gondwana (Australia, China, Kazakhstan), and West Gondwana. The West Gondwana occurrences include Cambroclavus ludwigsdorfensis Elicki, 1994 and Cambroclavus sp. from the late Early Cambrian of eastern Germany (Elicki, 1994, 2005; Elicki and Watte, 2003), and Cambroclavus sp. from the early Middle Cambrian of Sardinia (Elicki and Wotte, 2003;“ Elicki et al., 2003; Elicki, 2005, 2006). Recently, Clausen and Alvaro (2006) reported the zhijinitid form Parazhijinites cf. guizhouensis Qian and Yin, 1984 from the early Middle Cambrian of the Cantabrian zone of northwest Spain. Other than the mentioned tropical occurrences, Landing (1991) published the obviously cool to cold water form Samsanoffoclavus matthewi Landing, 1991 from the middle Early Cambrian of Cape Breton Island (Avalonia).
Permian Hyolithida from Australia: the last of the hyoliths?
Authors: Malinky John M.
Published: August 2016

Class Hyolitha Marek, 1963 encompassing the Order Hyolithida Sysoev, 1957 (Early Cambrian to Upper Permian) and Order Orthothecida Marek, 1966 (Early Cambrian to Early Devonian) consists of a group of conical, calcareous-shelled invertebrates of controversial affinity. One opponent view holds that hyoliths may be reasonably accommodated under the Phylum Mollusca (Malinky and Yochelson, 2007 and references therein), whereas another supports separate phylum status under the name Hyolitha (Pojeta, 1987 and references therein). Hyolith abundance and diversity attain a maximum in the Cambrian, followed by a progressive decline up to their Permian extinction (Fisher, 1962; Wills, 1993). Their demise was part of the extinction event of the Late PermianlEarly Triassic. The cause(s) of this event remains controversial (Erwin et al., 2002), and no imprint remains in the geologic record of the specific circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the hyoliths, though it is highly probable that reduced population size was a contributing factor. Given the overall rarity of Late Paleozoic hyoliths, every occurrence is worthy of note to better understand patterns of hyolith diversity and abundance in the Late Paleozoic, the geographic and stratigraphic distribution of hyolith taxa and circumstances related to their extinction. The species from the Upper Permian described herein is among the youngest, if not the youngest, members of class Hyolitha.