Paleobiology Commons^™

New Approaches To Understanding The Mechanics Of Burgess Shale-Type Deposits: From The Micron Scale To The Global Picture, Robert Gaines, Mary L. Droser

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

Cambrian Burgess Shale-type (BST) deposits are among the most significant deposits for understanding the “Cambrian explosion” because they contain the fossilized tissues of nonmineralized organisms and provide a substantially different window on the radiation of the Metazoa than is afforded by the more “typical” fossil record of skeletal parts of biomineralized organisms. Despite nearly a century of research, BST deposits remain poorly investigated as sedimentologic entities largely because they comprise fine-grained mudrocks. Here,we describe a new, integrative approach to understanding a single BST deposit, the middle Cambrian Wheeler Formation of Utah, which reveals a dynamic interplay of paleoenvironmental, paleoecologic, and …

Tapeworms Of Elasmobranchs (Part I) A Monograph On The Lecanicephalidea (Platyhelminthes, Cestoda), Kirsten Jensen

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

This represents the first monographic and phylogenetic treatment of the order Lecanicephalidea. The main objective was to treat the Lecanicephalidea at the generic level, while providing information on morphology, taxonomic history, phylogenetic relationships, geographic distribution, and host associations of the group. Following an introduction to the morphology of the Lecanicephalidea, the phylogenetic placement of the group is addressed. This is followed by a review of the taxonomic history of the group and relationships within, including summaries of 29 previously used classification schemes. Despite the generic focus of this study, the taxonomic status of 137 previously recognized lecanicephalidean species was evaluated, …

Mammals Of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, Kenneth N. Geluso, Keith Geluso

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Carlsbad Cavern was established as a national park on 14 May 1930, after being designated as a national monument for nearly seven years. The park is located in southeastern New Mexico, and today it encompasses 189.3 km² (73.1 mi²). Eighty-eight percent of the park lies in the rugged Guadalupe Mountains, while 12% is located on relatively flat land along the base of the mountains. The park contains a variety of habitats ranging from desert scrub at the lowest elevations to coniferous woodlands on the highest summits. Five months after Carlsbad Cavern was declared a national monument, Vernon …

Body Mass Of Late Quaternary Mammals (Data Set), Felisa A. Smith, S. Kathleen Lyons, S.K. Morgan Ernest, Kate E. Jones, Kansas State University, Tamar Dayan, Pablo A. Marquet, James H. Brown, John P. Haskell

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this data set was to compile body mass information for all mammals on Earth so that we could investigate the patterns of body mass seen across geographic and taxonomic space and evolutionary time. We were interested in the heritability of body size across taxonomic groups (How conserved is body mass within a genus, family, and order?), in the overall pattern of body mass across continents (Do the moments and other descriptive statistics remain the same across geographic space?), and over evolutionary time (How quickly did body mass patterns iterate on the patterns seen today? Were the Pleistocene …

Southeast Nebraska Geology: Field Trip 3, Roger K. Pabian, Robert F. Diffendal, Jr. Jr., Darwin R. Boardman Ii

Robert F. Diffendal, Jr., Publications

The purpose of this trip is to familiarize you with the latest Pennsylvanian and earliest Permian rocks that are exposed in extreme southeastern Nebraska. You will see eight exposures of these rocks and will have ample opportunity to collect lithologic samples, as well as samples for both macro- and micro-fossils. The stops have been selected to show you examples of several different environments that existed in southeastern Nebraska in the late Paleozoic. These include subaerial deposits with paleosols, nearshore and offshore marine clastic and carbonate sequences. Each stop is covered in detail in the handouts that have been furnished to …

Ashfall Historic Park: Field Trip 5, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

Robert F. Diffendal, Jr., Publications

Ashfall Fossill Beds: A State Historical Park. Brochure. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and University of Nebraska State Museum

Research Reports, 1978. Projects: A Miocene Rhinoceros Herd Buried in Volcanic Ash. Grant Recipient: Michael R. Voorhies, Division of Vertebrate Paleontology, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Geologic Framework of the Niobrara River Drainage Basin and Adjacent Areas in South Dakota Generally East of the 100th Meridian West Longitude and West of the Missouri River Robert F. Diffendal, Jr. and Michael R. Voorhies. Nebraska Geological Survey Report of Investigations, number 9.

Evidence Of Earliest Known Wildfires, Walter L. Cressler Iii

Earth & Space Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Biogeochemical Comparison Of Fossil (Carboniferous) And Modern Crustose Red Algae, Michael A. Kruge, John E. Utgaard, William Ferry

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The nature of the contribution of the various types of algae to sedimentary organic matter continues to be a topic of research interest. Crustose red algae have however received less attention than other types. The fossil calcareous red algae (Rhodophyta) analyzed in this study are two relatively unrecrystallized specimens of Parachaetetes (Family Solenoporacea) from the lower part of the Ste. Genevieve Formation (Carboniferous, Visean) in Union County, Illinois, USA. They occurred in the patch reef phase of a small carbonate mudmound-patchreef. The three modern specimens (collected and identified by F. Collier) are the crustose algae Lithothamnion, Clathromorphum and Phymatolithon …

Amphicyonidae, Robert Hunt

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The Amphicyonidae occur in North America from late Eocene (~40 Ma) to early late Miocene (~9 Ma), a span of 31 million years. In the North American land mammal biochronology, this diverse family extends from the Duchesnean to the end of the Clarendonian and is especially well represented in the Miocene (~5-24 Ma). In the Old World, amphicyonids survive no longer than in North America: The last European records are Vallesian (Dinotheriensande, Mainz Basin, Germany, Kuss, 1965, Tobien, 1980; Vallés-Penédes Basin, Spain, Crusafont-Pairó and Kurten, 1976), and the last representative may occur at about 9 Ma at Kohfidisch, Austria (latest …

Vertebrate Paleontology Of The Koum Basin, Northern Cameroon, And Archosaurian Paleobiogeography In The Early Cretaceous, John Deforest Congleton Jr.

Earth Sciences Theses and Dissertations

The Koum basin is located in West Africa and is a half­graben filled with Cretaceous and younger sediments. It formed in response to tectonic stresses that preceded the development of the Benue trough and the final connection of the North and South Atlantic Oceans. The Cretaceous sediments, up to 3000 meters thick, represent lacustrine, fluvial, and alluvial fan deposits, and suggest an axially­drained half-graben sedimentation model.

Archosaur fossils recovered from the eastern Koum basin include the teeth of two terrestrial crocodylians (cf. Araripesuchus wegeneri and cf. Sebecosuchia) teeth of sauropod and two kinds of theropod dinosaurs (cf. Spinosauridae and Theropoda …

A Revision Of The North American Papillose Allocreadiidae (Digenea) With Independent Cladistic Analyses Of Larval And Adult Forms, Janine N. Caira

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Adult specimens of all 19 North American species of papillose allocreadiids were examined. A description and figure is given for the adult of each species; details of the cirrus sacs are presented for most spesies for the first time. Descriptions were emended where necessary and judgments were made on synonymies. Scanning electron micrographs of the oral sucker of 10 species are presented as is a new key to the 19 species. A cladistic analysis was performed on the group based on adult characters. The analysis indicated that the group is monophyletic on the basis of the ventral papillae associated with …

Late Pennsylvanian And Early Permian Cyclic Sedimentation, Paleogeography, Paleoecology, And Biostratigraphy In Kansas And Nebraska, Roger K. Pabian, Robert F. Diffendal, Jr. Jr.

Robert F. Diffendal, Jr., Publications

Overview of Upper Pennsylvanian Cyclic Sedimentation in Kansas and Nebraska, Philip H. Heckel, Department of Geology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

With contributions from:

Christopher G. Maples and W. Lynn Watney, Kansas Geological Survey, Lawrence, Kansas

John Harris, Shell Western Exploration and Production, Inc., Houston, Texas

David Ball, Champlin Petroleum Company, Houston, Texas

Philip H. Heckel, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

R. R. West, V. Voegeli, S. Roth, K. Leonard, H. R. Feldman, and C. Cunningham, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas

Royal H. Mapes, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio

Hans-Peter Schultze, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

R. Matt Joeckel, …

A Monograph Of The Genus Polyphylla Harris In America North Of Mexico (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae), Ronald M. Young

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

The North American species of the genus Polyphylla Harris, 1841, are defined and revised for the first time since Fall (1928). All name bearing types were examined except those of P. oklahomensis Hatch and P. subvittata LeConte (synonyms of P. hammondl), which are lost. A lectotype is designated for P. gracilis Horn, and neotypes for P. decemlineata (Say), P. occidentalis (L.), and P. variolosa (Hentz). New synonyms of P. decemlineata are P. comstockiana von Bloeker, P. matrona Casey, and P. potsiana Casey. New synonyms of P. crinita …

Classification, Paleoecology, And Biostratigraphy Of Crinoids From The Stull Shale (Late Pennsylvanian) Of Nebraska, Kansas, And Iowa, Roger K. Pabian, Harrell L. Strimple

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Thirteen species of crinoids representing the families Diphuicrinidae, catacrinidae, Pirasocrinidae, Erisocrinidae, Cromyocrinidae, Cymbiocrinidae, Scytalocrinidae, and Ampelocrinidae have been collected from the Stull Shale Member of the Kanwaka Formation in the Shawnee Group of the Virgil Series (Upper Pennsylvanian) from near Weeping Water and Plattsmouth, Nebraska, and near Pacific Junction, Iowa. Exposures of the Stull Shale near Melvern, Kansas, have yielded 14 species of crinoids representing the families Diphuicrinidae, Catacrinidae, Pirasocrinidae, Lophocrinidae Allagecrinidae, Cymbiocrinidae, Erisocrinidae, Apographiocrinidae, and Stellarocrinidae. All but two of the species present in the Stull Shale have been previously reported from other stratigraphic horizons, including the Vinland Shale …

A Revision Of The Genus Strategus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), Brett C. Ratcliffe

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

The New World genus Strategus Kirby is here defined and revised for the first time. Eight species are described as new: S. atlanticus, S. caymani, S. craigi, S. hipposiderus, S. howdeni, S. longichomperus, S. symphenax, and S. tarquinius; 12 new junior synonyms are established (including the rejection of six previously valid species)'; one species is raised from synonymy; and two new replacement names are proposed. Strategus now contains one fossil species and 31 valid extant species. A key to the males and females of all the species is provided for the first …

A New Kimballian Peccary From Nebraska, C. Bertrand Schultz, Larry D. Martin

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

A new species of Pliocene peccary, Prosthennops (Macrogens) graffhami; is described from the Kimball Formation, Ogallala Group, Frontier County, Nebraska. This new species is the latest in geologic age and most advanced in the genus.

The remains of fossil vertebrates are generally rare in the upper part of the Ogallala group, and some have maintained that Hemphillian faunas such as Coffee Ranch and Smith County, Kansas, represent the latest Ogallala faunas. Later faunas than are typically considered as Hemphillian, containing more advanced forms, occur in the Kimball Formation and deposits of equivalent age. Known faunas which may …

Bears (Ursidae) From The Late Cenozoic Of Nebraska, C. Bertrand Schultz, Larry D. Martin

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

A ramus and partial premaxilla establish the presence of a new subspecies of Indarctos in the upper Pliocene (Kimball Formation, Ogallala Group) of Frontier County, Nebraska. An extremely large species of Agriotherium is represented by fragmentary remains from the middle Pliocene (middle part of Ash Hollow Formation, Ogallala Group) of Sherman County, Nebraska.

This study is part of a series of papers dealing primarily with the fauna of the Kimball formation in Nebraska (Barbour 1927, 1929; Barbour and Schultz, 1941; Schultz and Stout, 1948, 1961; Kent 1963, 1967; Tanner, 1967; Short, 1969; Martin and Tate, 1970; Schultz, Schultz, and Martin, …

Scimitar-Toothed Cats, Machairodus And Nimravides, From The Pliocene Of Kansas And Nebraska, Larry D. Martin, C. Bertrand Schultz

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

"Machairodus catocopis Cope" is shown to be a pseudaelurin cat belonging to the genus Nimravides Kitts. Nimravides thinobates (Macdonald) is a possible synonym of N. catocopis (Cope). Nimravides is compared with the Eurasian Machairodus-like cat, Dinofelis. Machairodus (Heterofelis) coloradensis is reported from the Kimball Formation, upper Pliocene (Kimballian) of Cheyenne County, Nebraska, and from the upper part of the Ash Hollow Formation, Pliocene (Hemphillian) of Sherman County, Nebraska. The Kimballian form is described as a new subspecies, Machairodus coloradensis tanneri.

The genus Machairodus has long been associated with the Hemphillian of North America and the …

Cenozoic Mammals From The Central Great Plains, C. Bertrand Schultz, Larry D. Martin, R. George Corner, Lloyd G. Tanner

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Includes:

Part 1. Middle and Late Cenozoic Tapirs from Nebraska. By C. Bertrand Schultz, Larry D. Martin, and R. George Corner.

Part 2. Stratigraphic Occurrences of Teleoceras, with a New Kimballian Species from Nebraska. By Lloyd G. Tanner.

Part 3. A New Kimballian Peccary from Nebraska. By C. Bertrand Schultz and Larry D. Martin.

Part 4. Bears (Ursidae) from the Late Cenozoic of Nebraska. By C. Bertrand Schultz and Larry D. Martin.

Part 5. Scimitar-toothed Cats, Machairodus and Nimravides, from the Pliocene of Kansas and Nebraska. By Larry D. Martin and C. Bertrand Schultz.

84 pp

Middle And Late Cenozoic Tapirs From Nebraska, C. Bertrand Schultz, Larry D. Martin, R. George Corner

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

The distribution and evolution of Late Cenozoic tapirs are discussed and the forms present in Nebraska are reported. Two new species are described from the Ogallala Pliocene of Nebraska, ?Tapirus johnsoni and ?T. simpsoni. Tapirs are known in Nebraska from the Early Oligocene through the Middle Pleistocene. The northern limit of the distribution of the tapirs contracts gradually southward in North America throughout the Tertiary, and even during the Pleistocene interglacials Nebraska must have been near the northern limit of their range.

Stratigraphic Occurrences Of Teleoceras With A New Kimballianspecies From Nebraska, Lloyd G. Tanner

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Study of Teleoceras remains in the University of Nebraska State Museum indicates that this specialized, short-limbed rhinoceros inhabited the Central Great Plains from Early through Late Pliocene. Previously thought to have become extinct at the end of the middle Pliocene, this genus is now known from the very latest Pliocene. A new species, Teleoceras schultzi, is described from the Kimball Formation, Ogallala Group, Frontier County, Nebraska.

Conodonts Of The Mecca Quarry Shale, Timothy Charles O'Neill

Masters Theses

Conodonts were found to be abundant in the Middle Pennsylvanian, Mecca Quarry Shale, Parke County, Indiana. Nine forms were identified in this black fissile shale from a locality along Montgomery Creek near the town of Mecca. These elements are: Hindeodella parva, Idiognathodus delacatus, Gondolella sp. a, Ozarkodina delacatula, Lonchodina clarki, Ligonodina typa, Lonchodus simplex, Metalonchodina bidentata, and Neoprioniodus conjunctus.

Ratios of elements to each other were determined and used to arrive at an idea of what conodont assemblages were present. At least three asemblages are presented; Scottognathus, Duboisella, and Illinella …

A New Species Of Menoceras From The Marsland Formation Of Nebraska, Lloyd G. Tanner

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Further study indicates that the Menoceras remains collected from the "Bridgeport Quarries" (lower port:on or the Marsland Formation, Middle Miocene, of the Hemingford Group) are of a new species.

In 1962, these dicerathere remains were considered to be a geologic variety of Diceratherium niobrarensis (Stecher, Schultz, and Tanner). However, later (Tanner, 1969) a generic distinction was revived, separating the Menoceras Troxell from Diceratherium Marsh. Diceretherium niobrarensis was then placed in synonymy with Menoceras arikarense (Barbour).

The new species is an intermediate between Menoceras arikarense (Barbour) from the Harrison Formation and Menoceras marslandensis Tanner, from the upper portion of the Marsland …

Two Lynx-Like Cats From The Pliocene And Pleistocene, C. Bertrand Schultz, Larry D. Martin

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

A new species (Lynx stouti) of small felid is described from the lower Pliocene of Colorado. This form has several characters in common with the modern Lynx and may be ancestral to that genus. A new subspecies of Lynx issiodorensis Croizet and Jobert is described as L. i. kurteni from the Mullen Assemblage, Cherry County, Nebraska. The relationships of this form to other lynxes are discussed along with the paleo-distribution of the genus.

The classification of the felinae has always been somewhat controversial, especially at the generic level. One fairly homogenous group of cats which has been separated …

Phyletic Trends In Certain Lineages Of Quaternary Mammals, C. Bertrand Schultz, Lloyd G. Tanner, Lary D. Martin

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Evolutionary trends in certain carnivores, rodents, bovids, and proboscideans are examined. Chronoclines are demonstrated for muskrats, beavers, mammoths, and bison. The Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary and Quaternary climatic fluctuations are also discussed.

The University of Nebraska State Museum contains a large stratigraphically controlled collection of Pleistocene animals. This collection provides a unique opportunity for the study of phyletic trends in certain lineages of mammals. Although a few phylogenetic lineages have been proposed (Schultz and Frankforter, 1946; Hibbard, et al., 1965), this has not been done for the vast majority of Pleistocene mammals. However, there is much more data available than this would …

The Microtine Rodents Of The Mullen Assemblage From The Pleistocene Of North Central Nebraska, Larry D. Martin

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

The University of Nebraska State Museum has had an active collecting program in Hooker and Cherry counties, Nebraska, since the 1930's. The following University of Nebraska State Museum collecting localities have been extensively excavated: Cr-10, Cr-102, Cr-11, Ho-101, Ho-102, and Ho-103. These localities have produced a large vertebrate fauna described by Jakway as the Mullen Local Fauna which he considered for the most part to be Early lllinoian. Further study of this local fauna now demonstrates that assemblage does include Early as well as Middle Pleistocene animals. The purpose of this paper is to report on the evidence regarding the …

Squillites Spinosus (Syncarida, Malacostraca) And A New Unnamed Crustacean From The Mississippian Of Central Montana, Joan Matthews Rumore

Masters Theses

A Mississippian syncarid from the Heath shale, Squillites spinosus Scott, 1938, is redescribed and a discussion of some aspects of Syncarid phylogeny is given. Modern Syncarid biogeographical distribution is discussed and an analysis of these zoogeographical patterns is provided. A strange animal, Crustacea (incerta sedis) from the Heath shale is described in as far as is possible.

In 1971, Dr. Richard Lund of the University of Pittsburgh while searching for fossil fish in the Upper Mississippian Heath Shale of Montana found the associated remains of fossil crustaceans. Two locations were involved, T14 N R20E sec. 28, Fergus County, Montana, 2 …

A Revision Of The Feather Mite Genus Brephosceles (Proctophyllodidae: Alloptinae), Paul C. Peterson

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

A systematic revision is presented for the genus Brephosceles. Data on external morphology, zoogeography, and host-parasite relationships are included. Thirteen named and thirty new species are recognized and described. The new species and the type hosts are: Brephosceles afribycis, from Afribyx lateralis (Charadriidae); B. anhimae, from Anhima cornuta (Anhimidae); B. belonopteri, from Belonopterus chilensis cayennensis (Charadriidae); B. bilobatus, from Puffinus puffinus (Procellariidae); B. chilensis, from Belonopterus chilensis lampronotus (Charadriidae); B. collaracus, from Charadrius collaris (Charadriidae); B. constrictus, from Charadrius bicinctus (Charadriidae); B. diomedei, from Diomedea chrysostoma (Diomedeidae); B. discidicus, from Cygnus bewickii (Anatidae); B. disjunctus, from Pterodroma leucoptera hypoleuca (Procellariidae); …

A Generic Revision Of The Pterodedinae, A New Subfamily Of Feather Mites (Sarcoptiformes: Analgoidea), Chong K. Park, Warren T. Atyeo

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

The generic rev1s1on of the Pterodectinae, new subfamily of the Proctophyllodidae, is based on 88 named and over 160 new species. Included are morphology, host-parasite relationships, diagnoses of four named and eight new genera, and illustrations of each type species. The named genera are:

Anisodiscus Gaud and Mouchet, 1957; Montesauria Oudemans, 1905; Proterothrix Gaud, 1968; Pterodectes Robin, 1877. The new genera and their type species are: Dolichodectes, Proctophyllodes (Pterocolus) edwardsi Trouessart, 1885; Megalodectes, Proctophyllodes (Pterodectes) major Trouessart, 1885; Neodectes, Proctophyl/odes (Pterodectes) securiclatus Trouessart and Neumann, 1888; Pedanodectes, Pterodectes hologaster Gaud, 1953; Syntomodectes, Proctophyllodes (Pterodectes) selenurus Trouessart, 1885; Toxerodectes, Pterodectes gladiger …

Machairodont Cats From The Early Pleistocene Broadwater And Lisco Local Faunas, C. Bertrand Schultz, Larry D. Martin

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

A new species of Ischyrosmilus (I. crusafonti) is reported from the Early Pleistocene Broadwater Local Fauna of Morrill County, Nebraska. Ischyrosmilus sp. is reported from the Early Pleistocene Lisco Local Fauna. Megantereon is reported from the Broadwater Local Fauna and this is the first record of the genus from North America.