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Full-Text Articles in Earth Sciences
A Glyptosaurine Lizard From The Eocene (Late Uintan) Of San Diego, California, And Implications For Glyptosaurine Evolution And Biogeography, David Moscato
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Glyptosaurinae is an extinct subfamily of lizards of the family Anguidae. Glyptosaurine lizards are known exclusively from the Paleogene of North America and Eurasia, reaching their peak of diversity and distribution in the Eocene. In North America these lizards are largely restricted to the intermontane basins along the Rocky Mountain range, with only sparse, indeterminately-identified skeletal elements known from outside of this region. Glyptosaurine lizards are split into two tribes: the monophyletic Glyptosaurini and paraphyletic “Melanosaurini”. Within Glyptosaurini, the most common and widespread genus is Glyptosaurus. In this study I describe a new specimen assignable to G. sylvestris, …
Systematics, Climate, And Ecology Of Fossil And Extant Nyssa (Nyssaceae, Cornales) And Implications Of Nyssa Grayensis Sp. Nov. From The Gray Fossil Site, Northeast Tennessee, Nathan R. Noll
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Late Hemphillian (latest Miocene or earliest Pliocene, 7-4.5 Ma) Gray Fossil Site in northeastern Tennessee is interpreted to represent a lacustrine paleokarst fed by a river or stream. This research focuses on the morphological and systematic relations of Nyssa endocarps (fruit pits) from the fossil site to extinct and extant Nyssa species. A combination of metric and nonmetric traits allows recognition of a new species: Nyssa grayensis sp. nov. This fossil species shares the most similarities with the extant Nyssa ogeche Bartram ex Marshall from southeast North America and the Eocene fossil Nyssa eolignitica Berry from western Tennessee. Affinities …
Identifying Myotis Species Using Geometric Morphometrics And Its Implications For The Fossil Record And Conservation, Kyle J. Jansky
Identifying Myotis Species Using Geometric Morphometrics And Its Implications For The Fossil Record And Conservation, Kyle J. Jansky
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Dentaries of the 6 species of Myotis that occur in the eastern United States were analyzed using landmark-based geometric morphometrics. The species could be distinguished with a high degree of accuracy. Evidence was found of a phylogenetic signal in the morphology of the Neotropical and Nearctic Myotis sub-clades. There is also evidence of convergence in the morphology of the dentary among Myotis species that feed primarily by gleaning. When analyzed together there was no evidence of sexual dimorphism among the 6 eastern U.S. Myotis, but when analyzed individually some dimorphism may be present. A sample of fossil Myotis of …
A New Species Of Teleoceras From The Late Miocene Gray Fossil Site, With Comparisons To Other North American Hemphillian Species, Rachel A. Short
A New Species Of Teleoceras From The Late Miocene Gray Fossil Site, With Comparisons To Other North American Hemphillian Species, Rachel A. Short
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
A thorough morphological description of Teleoceras material from the Gray Fossil Site, Gray, Tennessee is provided. This is the only record of a browsing Teleoceras and, as a late Hemphillian locality, represents one of the youngest populations. Linear measurements of post-cranial elements indicate proportional differences between Teleoceras from the Gray Fossil Site and those from other Hemphillian localities. These differences are more pronounced in the elements of the forelimb than in those of the hind limb. Statistical analyses of post-cranial elements from 3 Hemphillian species of Teleoceras suggest that these differences should not be used to separate species. However, the …
Analysis Of The Blancan Procyonids Of Florida, Laura S. Gilmore
Analysis Of The Blancan Procyonids Of Florida, Laura S. Gilmore
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Procyonids are well known biologically but knowledge of their fossil record is comparatively sparse. This study seeks to describe a sample of late Blancan procyonid fossils composed mostly of postcranial and dental material. Fossils are analyzed using linear and 2D geometric morphometrics and compared with a large sample of modern specimens from a wide geographic area to understand the range of intraspecific variation. The large Procyon species is described as a new taxon based on morphology of the postcrania and lower dentition, while another Procyon species is also described as new due to an apomorphy in the upper dentition. A …