Paleontology Commons^™

Introduction, Systematic Paleontology, And Geological Context Of Vintana Sertichi (Mammalia, Gondwanatheria) From The Late Cretaceous Of Madagascar, D. Krause, Raymond Rogers, L. Rahantarisoa, J. Groenke, H. Anriamiaison

Raymond Rogers

No abstract provided.

Marine Diatom Assemblage Variation Across Pleistocene Glacial-Interglacial Transitions And Neogene Diatom Biostratigraphy Of Site C9001, Nw Pacific Ocean, Marcella K. Purkey

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In 2006, D/V-Chikyu cruise CK06-06 drilled Hole C9001C at Site C9001 in the Northwest Pacific Ocean, 80 km east of the Shimokita Peninsula, Japan. An existing chronostratigraphic framework provides a continuous glacial-interglacial (GI) climate record from which a diatom record of paleoenvironmental changes was developed across several GI cycles. Species counts, diatom temperature values, calculated sea-surface temperatures (SST) and factor analysis were produced for each sample and calibrated to prior diatom studies in this region. These features were used to characterize and compare interglacial maxima of Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1, 5e, 9 and 11 and transitions from the preceding …

The Femur Of Orrorin Tugenensis Exhibits Morphometric Affinities With Both Miocene Apes And Later Hominins, Sergio Almecija, Melissa Tallman, David M. Alba, Marta Pina, Salvador Moya-Sola, William L. Jungers

Peer Reviewed Articles

Orrorin tugenensis (Kenya, ca. 6 Ma) is one of the earliest putative hominins. Its proximal femur, BAR 1002′00, was originally described as being very human-like, although later multivariate analyses showed an australopith pattern. However, some of its traits (for example, laterally protruding greater trochanter, medially oriented lesser trochanter and presence of third trochanter) are also present in earlier Miocene apes. Here, we use geometric morphometrics to reassess the morphological affinities of BAR 1002′00 within a large sample of anthropoids (including fossil apes and hominins) and reconstruct hominoid proximal femur evolution using squared-change parsimony. Our results indicate that both hominin …

Species Discrimination, Systematics, And Ontogeny Of Blastoidea, James William Atwood

Doctoral Dissertations

Blastoids are ideal model organisms with which to study evolutionary processes because nearly all of the skeletal elements are shared among all taxa, there have been recent advances in the understanding of blastoid homology, and they are more commonly preserved fully inflated than any other blastozoan. Because of this homology and preservation, blastoids are the perfect candidate for studies involving geometric morphometrics and systematics. But the potential of blastoids to be a model clade has been extremely hampered by the lack of a modern phylogenetics and classification.

The focus of this dissertation is to increase our understanding of blastoid species …

Marine Micro And Macro Faunas Of Holocene Deposits Of Anadolu Hi̇sari (Anatolian Castle, Bosphorus) And The Presence Of Xantho Poressa (Olivi) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Xanthidae), Engin Meri̇ç, Hüsamettin Balkis, Niyazi Avşar, Atike Nazi̇k, Feyza Di̇nçer

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

The presence of Xantho poressa (Olivi), known as the recent fossil, from Crustacea- Decapoda in Holocene deposits of Anadolu Hisarı has been revealed inthis study. This crab species is known as ranging from Mediterranean Sea to Black Sea and from Canary Islands to Portugal in Northeast Atlantic within depths of 0-15 meters in tidal and shallow subtidal environments. Remnants of broken crab shells with benthic foraminifera, ostracoda, bryozoan, pelecypoda and gastropoda were found in 78 samples which were collected from different levels of 8 of the cores taken from the basement of Küçüksu Palace at the Anadolu Hisarı. It was …

First Determination Of Rudists (Bivalvia) From Ne Iraq: Systematic Palaeontology And Palaeobiogeography, Sacit Özer, Kamal Haji Karim, Dereen Mohamad Sadiq

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

The Maastrichtian Aqra Formation around Mawat-Chwarta (Sulaimaniya city) in NE Iraq consists mainly of coarse grained detrital limestone, locally containing terrigenous clastics, and is characterized by abundant rudists in life position. The rudist biostromes are very common in the formation and benthic foraminifers, gastropods and non-rudist bivalves with scarcer echinoderms and solitary corals are associated with the rudists. This first determination of rudists from NE Iraq recognizes the following species, Dictyoptychus aff. morgani, Sauvagesia somalica, Hippurites cornucopiae, Praeradiolites subtoucasi and Lapeirousia jouanneti, as well as some indeterminable radiolitid sections. This rudist fauna is assigned to the Hippurites cornucopiae interval zone …

Letter: A Developing Schism In Flood Geology, Marcus R. Ross

Marcus R. Ross

First paragraph: Froede and Akridge are correct to recognize that creation geology includes two widely divergent groups seeking to reconstruct Earth history within a Biblical framework. Such has been the case throughout the history of creationism, going back to disagreements between Harold Clark and George McCready Price over the reality (or not) of the geologic column. With the increased number of geologically trained young-Earth creationists, discussions over these issues have become more common.

Ichnology And Paleoecology Of The Jurassic Aztec Sandstone, Heather Marie Stoller

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In this study I describe and interpret tracks and trackways of the Jurassic Aztec Sandstone of southern Nevada and southern California. This study involved mapping of all known tracks and trackways, including foot length, stride length, and trackway width. Photogrammetric data, collected by Bureau of Land Management scientists, were utilized for several trackways in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

More than three hundred tracks belonging to five ichnotaxa were documented within the Aztec Sandstone, including about 165 tridactylGrallator, 250 tetradactyl (four-toed)Brasilichniumtracks, and 7 arthropod trackways ofOctopodichnusandPaleohelcura. Four of the five ichnotaxa were not previously reported from the Aztec Sandstone. …

Postglacial Faunal Records From Cave Deposits In Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada, Christopher N. Jass, Greg Horne, Dave Critchley

National Cave and Karst Management Symposium 2013

In 2009, we initiated an on-going, long term research project that focuses on exploration of fossil-bearing cave deposits in Jasper National Park. Specifically, we were interested in understanding patterns of mammalian re-colonization of mountainous regions following late Pleistocene deglaciation. Our work has focused on the identification of fossil-bearing cave deposits, excavation and sampling of those deposits, and radiocarbon dating of recovered remains. Examined sites have at least an age of 9600 years BP. Research at four cave sites, located in relatively close proximity to one another, is contributing to an improved understanding of the late Quaternary record of Jasper National …

Assessing The Reliability Of Stable Isotopes In Fossil Bone: A Unique Case Study Of Prehistoric Lung Pathology., Kathleen Bundy, Samuel D. Matson

Student Research Initiative

Mammals at Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park (NE Nebraska) offer a unique opportunity to test for the preservation of primary isotopic signatures in fossilized materials. At this site, large herbivores such as rhinoceroses, horses and camels are buried in volcanic ash sourced from an eruption of the Bruneau-Jarbridge caldera (Idaho/Nevada) ca. 11.8 million years ago. Most fossils from Ashfall display pathologic bone symptomatic of a lung disease (hypertrophic osteopathy or HPOA) likely related to inhalation of volcanic ash. In this study, we compare the stable oxygen isotopic composition (δ¹⁸O) of pathologic bone with that of normal cortical …

Revised Vertebral Count In The "Longest-Necked Vertebrate" Elasmosaurus Platyurus Cope 1868, And Clarification Of The Cervical-Dorsal Transition In Plesiosauria, Sven Sachs, Benjamin P. Kear, Michael J. Everhart

Sternberg Museum of Natural History Faculty Publications

Elasmosaurid plesiosaurians are renowned for their immensely long necks, and indeed, possessed the highest number of cervical vertebrae for any known vertebrate. Historically, the largest count has been attributed to the iconic Elasmosaurus platyurus from the Late Cretaceous of Kansas, but estimates for the total neck series in this taxon have varied between published reports. Accurately determining the number of vertebral centra vis-à-vis the maximum length of the neck in plesiosaurians has significant implications for phylogenetic character designations, as well as the inconsistent terminology applied to some osteological structures. With these issues in mind, we reassessed the holotype of E. …

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, …

Lithic Analysis Of Coyote Canyon Mammoth Site Sediments, Kaitlin M. Hill, George V. Last

STAR Program Research Presentations

The landforms and geologic layers of Southeastern Washington record fascinating, unique geologic events, including repeated catastrophic flooding that occurred during the last Ice Age. These floods left behind many distinctive features, and a variety of fossils. After discovery of mammoth-sized bones in 1999, and confirmation that more bones were still in place in 2008, the Coyote Canyon Mammoth Site near Kennewick, Washington was secured for research, and formal excavation began in 2010.

Previous research suggests that the remains are buried in Ice Age flood deposits, which are overlain by eolian sediments, and those in turn overlain by slope wash. We …

Cyclic Distributional Model Of The Late Moscovian Fusulinids In The Donets Basin (Ukraine) In Response To Eustatic Sea Level Fluctuations And Its Application In Biostratigraphy And Correlation, Rimma Khodjanyazova

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The continuous Pennsylvanian shallow-marine, paralic, siliciclastic succession in the Donets Basin is pivotal for correlation of marine and continental strata in northern Pangaea with coeval shallow-marine mainly carbonate strata in the Moscow Basin, a historical type area of Moscovian Horizons. The details of the history of establishment, lithostratigraphy and current biostratigraphy of Podolskian and Myachkovian Horizons in the Moscow Basin that are not readily available in Western literature are reviewed.

A model of cyclic recurrence (~0.6 —1myr) of three main fusulinid assemblages in the Pennsylvanian siliciclastic-carbonate succession in the Donets Basin is proposed. A Hemifusulina-association (A) indicates the onset …

Paleobiogeographical Variation Of Cretaceous Mecaster Batnensis And Mecaster Fourneli (Echinoidea: Spatangoida), Ryan Oliver Roney

Masters Theses

Spatangoids are the echinoid group best represented in the South American Cretaceous fossil record. This study analyzed two Cretaceous spatangoid species of the genus Mecaster (M. batnensis (Coquand, 1862) and M. fourneli (Agassiz, 1847)) found in South America as well as Africa, North America, Asia and possibly Europe (Smith and Bengtson 1991, Smithsonian Collection). This study assessed the paleobiogeographical variation of these species. Specimens from at least eight widely spaced localities were measured for morphometric analysis. Initial observations using length, width, and height data of M. batnensis and M. fourneli populations indicate regional differences in growth trajectories. A comparative …

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 …

Paleoecology Of Late Pleistocene Megaherbivores: Stable Isotope Reconstruction Of Environment, Climate, And Response, Aubrey Mae Bonde

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Late Pleistocene megaherbivore communities of the Pacific and Mountain West states of California and Nevada are under-analyzed in regard to ecological function (diet, mobility, niche partitioning, and range of ecological tolerance). Stable isotope analysis is a powerful tool that is known to recover primary paleodiet and paleoenvironmental information from biogenic materials, such as enamel and dentin. This dissertation explores the use of carbon and oxygen stable isotopes in Late Pleistocene (40-10 Ka) megaherbivore teeth to gain a better understanding of inter- and intra-specific behavior and reconstruct Late Pleistocene ecosystems of California and Nevada. Radiocarbon dates exist for most of the …

Landslides Of Nebraska, Duane A. Eversoll

Conservation and Survey Division

No abstract provided.

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 …

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 …