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Full-Text Articles in Paleontology
Fossil Moles From The Gray Fossil Site, Tn: Implications For Diversification And Evolution Of North American Talpidae, Danielle Oberg
Fossil Moles From The Gray Fossil Site, Tn: Implications For Diversification And Evolution Of North American Talpidae, Danielle Oberg
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Gray Fossil Site (GFS) is one of the richest Cenozoic terrestrial localities in the eastern United States. This study describes the first talpid specimens recovered from the GFS. Using measurements and comparisons of dental and humerus morphology, I identify 4 talpids (Parascalops nov. sp., Quyania cf. Q. europaea, Mioscalops (= Scalopoides) sp., and an unidentified stem desman) occurring at the GFS. Humeral morphology has been used to diagnose talpid species and study relationships. A geometric morphometric analysis showed that humerus shape is highly reflective of locomotor ecology in extant talpids and allows ecological inferences for fossil …
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 …