Paleontology Commons^™

Distinguishing Mustela From Neogale (Mustelidae) Through Both A Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis Of Skull And Tooth Morphology, Ronald W. Peery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Weasels and mink (Mustela and Neogale) can be difficult to distinguish osteologically due to similarities in morphology, thus suggesting the need for an accurate tool in distinguishing among taxa. This study utilized a combination of character state and stepwise discriminant function (DFA) analyses to examine potential distinguishing features of skull and tooth morphology. Measurements and ratios were collected from all 18 extant musteline species, as well as the extinct Neovison macrodon, Mustela rexroadensis, Mustela meltoni, Mustela gazini, and Mustela jacksoni. Unidentified musteline specimens from the Gray Fossil Site were also included. Results of …

You Are What You Eat: Micro-Ct Analysis Of Early Triassic Coprolites, Olivia N. Benest

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Poster summarizing coprolite research, micro-CT analysis results, and future studies.

Palynology And Paleoclimatology Of The Chicxulub Impact Crater In The Early Paleogene, Vann Smith

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

At the end of the Cretaceous Period, a large bolide impacted the Earth and formed the Chicxulub impact crater in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. In 2016, International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 364 Site M0077 drilled into the buried peak ring of the crater, recovering a marine Paleocene to early Eocene post-impact section deposited on top of the impact breccia. Palynological analysis of 195 samples from the post-impact section has yielded the first pre-Holocene vegetational record from inside the Chicxulub impact crater and the first palynological record of the recovery of life following the end-Cretaceous mass extinction from inside the …

The Sensitivity Of Neotoma To Climate Change And Biodiversity Loss Over The Late Quaternary, Catalina P. Tomé, S. Kathleen Lyons, Seth D. Newsome, Felisa A. Smith

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The late Quaternary in North America was marked by highly variable climate and considerable biodiversity loss including a megafaunal extinction event at the terminal Pleistocene. Here, we focus on changes in body size and diet in Neotoma (woodrats) in response to these ecological perturbations using the fossil record from the Edwards Plateau (Texas) across the past 20,000 years. Body mass was estimated using measurements of fossil teeth and diet was quantified using stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen from fossil bone collagen. Prior to ca. 7,000 cal yr BP, maximum mass was positively correlated to precipitation and negatively correlated …

Determining Biostratigraphy And Correlation Using Color Alteration Index And Lithofacies Of Conodonts In The Edinburg Formation, Central Virginia, Lauren Showalter

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Conodont species, CAI and lithofacies analysis are used as methods of correlation to determine the relative age, depositional environment, and post depositional burial history of the Edinburg Formation in central Virginia. Samples collected for conodont microfossils yielded faunas of Baltoniodus sp. or Amorphognathus sp., Periodon grandis and Protopanderodus liripipus from a site near Luray and Drepanoistodus suberectus, Plectodina sp., Protopanderodus liripipus, Oistodus sp., Phragmodus undatus, Erismodus radicans and Panderodus gracilis from a site in Harrisonburg. The species supports a Late Ordovician (Late Sandbian age). Conodonts from both sites have a CAI of 4-5, indicating post-depositional heating of …

Terrestrial Soldier Crab (Coenobita Clypeatus, Fabricius 1787) And Cerion Spp. (Röding 1798) Shell Relationship On San Salvador Island, Bahamas, Harley Hunt

Biology Theses

The Caribbean terrestrial soldier crab, Coenobita clypeatus(Fabricius 1787), coexist and utilize the shells of numerous species of land and marine gastropods. Soldier crabs rely on gastropod shells for protection as the crabs have a soft abdomen, leaving them vulnerable for predation and desiccation, threatening their survival. This creates a strong pressure to obtain well-fitting shells that provide adequate protection against water loss. Cerion of Röding (1798) shells are one of the most commonly used shells among living colonies of C. clypeatuson San Salvador Island. This study is interested in the frequency of shell use by C. clypeatus crabs …

Morphology And Paleoecology Of Nimravides Galiani (Felidae) And Barbourofelis Loveorum (Barbourofelidae) From The Late Miocene Of Florida, Christianne Ormsby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Saber-toothed remains have been found worldwide throughout the Cenozoic, until the end of the Pleistocene. One site from Alachua County, Florida preserves a diverse Miocene fauna, including the machairodontine Nimravides galiani (Felidae) and the saber-toothed Barbourofelis loveorum (Barbourofelidae). Both taxa roamed what would become the Love Bone Bed site during the Late Miocene (Late Clarendonian NALMA), ~ 9.5 Mya. Previous descriptions focused on crania; yet the large sample of postcrania remained undescribed. Hence, this project includes a detailed postcranial description of both taxa. Results show that N. galiani resembles extant felids, whereas B. loveorum resembles Smilodon fatalis, as well …

Taphonomy Of Late Jurassic (Tithonian) Morrison Formation Apatosaurus Sp. Vertebrae Found Associated With Teeth From Allosaurus Sp. And Ceratosaurus Sp., And Body Size Extrapolation From The Associated Theropod Teeth., Greg C. Agyan

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

An Apatosaurus sp. locality from Dinosaur National Monument designated DNM-15 was excavated in 1985, and associated with two Allosaurus teeth and one Ceratosaurus tooth that were near one of the caudal vertebrae. The Ceratosaurus tooth was buried between an overlying rib and that same caudal vertebra. The caudal vertebrae of the DNM-15 Apatosaurus were intact and articulated, but the anterior skeleton was mostly absent, with a row of articulated sacral vertebrae in close association with a femur. Two other Allosaurus teeth were reported near the preserved ilium of the Apatosaurus, but they could not be located in the collections. …

Diversity – Independent Factors Predict Elevated Extinction Rates, Dustin Perriguey, Corinne Myers, Jason Moore, Louis Scuderi

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Multiple linear regression was used to determine the relationships between diversity-independent factors (i.e., abiotic, climatic) 2, 5, and 10 Myrs-prior to the most elevated Phanerozoic extinctions. We constructed five abiotic variables from Phanerozoic proxy records1–5 to compare to extinction rates: mean temperature, temperature instability, carbon cycle instability, continental weathering rates, and habitat instability. All three models were statistically significant (P < 0.05) and explained > 70% of the variation in Alroy’s6 three-timer generic extinction rates. However, the 2 Myr-prior model explained the most variance in extinction rates and had the most predictive power, based on adjusted and predictive R2 (~ 72% and 41%, respectively). Carbon …

Comparison Of Modern And Mid-Holocene Benthic Foraminifera To Assess Recent Environmental Change In Almirante Bay, Caribbean Panama, Maria N. Gudnitz

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study used the diversity and distribution of benthic foraminiferal assemblages of Almirante Bay, Caribbean Panama, as environmental proxies to compare modern coral, seagrass and mangrove habitats to mid-Holocene coral reef facies on the island of Isla Colón, to investigate both natural and human-influenced changes.

The modern study associated species and assemblage characteristics with environmental conditions related to degraded water quality. Assemblages were fairly similar among neighboring habitats but differed in species proportions, while several stress-tolerant taxa might indicate eutrophic conditions. Diversity appeared to be regionally controlled by freshwater input irrespective of habitat type, was generally lower near the mainland …

Holocene Records Of Nebraska Mammals, Hugh H. Genoways

Zea E-Books Collection

A survey of the archeological and paleontological literature allowed a compilation of Holocene records of mammals in Nebraska. This survey identified Holocene records from 338 sites in 62 of the 93 Nebraska counties. These counties were located throughout state, but there was a concentration of sites in southwestern Nebraska where there were 27 fossil sites in Frontier County and 22 in Harlan County. Fossils sites were underrepresented in the Sand Hills region. Records of fossil mammals covered the entire Holocene period from 13,000 years ago until AD 1850. A minimum of 57 species (with eight additional species potentially present) representing …

Ecological Controls On The Campanian Distribution Of Hesperornis (Aves: Hesperornithiformes) In The Western Interior Seaway, Blake Chapman

Master's Theses

The epicontinental Western Interior Seaway (WIS) of Late Cretaceous North America provided a unique marine habitat for cephalopods, fish, marine reptiles, and the foot-propelled diving seabird Hesperornis. While several predator-prey relationships among Hesperornis or other hesperornithiforms and other WIS animals have been hypothesized based on gut contents, bite marks, and coprolites/colonites, ecological relationships have not been quantitatively tested. Paleontological species distribution modeling (SDM) studies have focused on extinct non-marine taxa and marine invertebrates, with only two marine vertebrate studies of extant taxa. Here, two SDM methods were used to test the influence of vertebrate faunas, sedimentary rock type, paleogeography, …

Bryozoan Taxa Of The Toroweap Formation Of Clark County, Nevada, Amy Joy Hess

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

No abstract provided.

Our Past Creates Our Present: A Brief Overview Of Racism And Colonialism In Western Paleontology, Pedro M. Monarrez, Joshua B. Zimmt, Annaka M. Clement, William Gearty, John J. Jacisin Iii, Kelsey M. Jenkins, Kristopher Mm. Kusnerik, Carmi Milagros Thompson, Ashley W. Poust, Selina V. Robson, Judith A. Sclafani, Kelsey T. Stilson, Shamindri D. Tennakoon

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

As practitioners of a historical science, paleontologists and geoscientists are well versed in the idea that the ability to understand and to anticipate the future relies upon our collective knowledge of the past. Despite this understanding, the fundamental role that the history of paleontology and the geosciences plays in shaping the structure and culture of our disciplines is seldom recognized and therefore not acted upon sufficiently. Here, we present a brief review of the history of paleontology and geology in Western countries, with a particular focus on North America since the 1800s. Western paleontology and geology are intertwined with systematic …