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Full-Text Articles in Paleobiology
Geometric Morphometric Analysis Of Modern Viperid Vertebrae Facilitates Identification Of Fossil Specimens, Lance D. Jessee
Geometric Morphometric Analysis Of Modern Viperid Vertebrae Facilitates Identification Of Fossil Specimens, Lance D. Jessee
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Snake vertebrae are common in the fossil record, whereas cranial remains are generally fragile and rare. Consequently, vertebrae are the most commonly studied fossil element of snakes. However, identification of snake vertebrae can be problematic due to extensive variation. This study utilizes 2-D geometric morphometrics and canonical variates analysis to 1) reveal variation between genera and species and 2) classify vertebrae of modern and fossil eastern North American Agkistrodon and Crotalus. The results show that vertebrae of Agkistrodon and Crotalus can reliably be classified to genus and species using these methods. Based on the statistical analyses, four of the …
New Species Of Dryolestoid From The Late Cretaceous Allen Formation And Implications For South American Faunal Diversity., Brigid Erin Connelly
New Species Of Dryolestoid From The Late Cretaceous Allen Formation And Implications For South American Faunal Diversity., Brigid Erin Connelly
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Dryolestoids are extinct cladotherians mammals from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. I describe a collection of dryolestoid specimens from the Late Cretaceous localities of Cerro Tortuga (Allen Formation), Anfiteatro 1, and Shining (both La Colonia Formation) from Patagonia, Argentina. Using comparative morphology, I identify a new species of meridiolestidan dryolestoid based on eleven specimens across both formations. The new species’ recovery from La Colonia Formation represents the first dryolestoid connection between the two approximately contemporaneous formations. The species’ morphology may represent an ecological shift within Meridiolestida from insectivory to herbivory, showing a transition in characters between the plesiomorphic sharp-toothed meridiolestidans …
New Reports Of Smilodon And Panthera From North American Cave Sites With Reviews Of Taxonomy, Biogeography, And History, Matthew Bushell
New Reports Of Smilodon And Panthera From North American Cave Sites With Reviews Of Taxonomy, Biogeography, And History, Matthew Bushell
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In this study, three new reports of large felids from the Pleistocene are presented and discussed. A single partial left dentary from Jawbone Cave represents the first confirmed presence of S. fatalis in east Tennessee and was sampled for radiocarbon dating. Wind Tunnel and Chilly Bowl Cave are among the first records of P. onca to be identified confidently from Arkansas. Chilly Bowl Cave also produced two trackways attributable to Panthera sp., one set potentially belonging to P. atrox. In addition to the description of these remains and the caves they were found in, taxonomic histories for both S. fatalis …