Manus Descriptions of an Undescribed Mastodon from the Latest Miocene-Earliest Pliocene Gray Fossil Site, with Comparisons to Other North American Proboscidean Taxa
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East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 12-2019 Manus Descriptions of an Undescribed Mastodon from the Latest Miocene-Earliest Pliocene Gray Fossil Site, with Comparisons to other North American Proboscidean Taxa Brenna Hart-Farrar East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Geology Commons, and the Paleobiology Commons Recommended Citation Hart-Farrar, Brenna, "Manus Descriptions of an Undescribed Mastodon from the Latest Miocene-Earliest Pliocene Gray Fossil Site, with Comparisons to other North American Proboscidean Taxa" (2019). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3680. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3680 This Thesis - unrestricted is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Manus Descriptions of an Undescribed Mastodon from the Latest Miocene-Earliest Pliocene Gray Fossil Site, with Comparisons to other North American Proboscidean Taxa _________________________________ A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of Geosciences East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Geosciences _________________________________ by Brenna J. Hart-Farrar December 2019 _________________________________ Steven C. Wallace, Chair Chris. Widga Blaine W. Schubert Keywords: Gray Fossil Site, Mammut, Mastodon, Morphology, Manus ABSTRACT Manus descriptions of an Undescribed Mastodon from the Latest Miocene-Earliest Pliocene Gray Fossil Site, with Comparisons to other North American Proboscidean Taxa by Brenna J. Hart-Farrar A detailed morphological description of a proboscidean manus from the Gray Fossil Site (GFS), Gray, Tennessee is provided. Manus elements from an American mastodon (Mammut americanum), a Britt’s shovel-tusker (Amebelodon britti), an undescribed small gomphothere species, and a Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) are used for comparisons. Linear measurements indicate proportional differences between the GFS mastodon and other proboscidean taxa ranging from the Hemphillian to Rancholabrean land mammal ages. Possible pathologies are also described. The purpose of this study is to determine how the GFS mastodon differs in manus morphology and locomotion from different proboscidean taxa, including size, environmental, evolutionary, and taxonomic factors. Morphological differences are more pronounced in carpals and metacarpals in regard to shape, size, and orientation of articular surfaces but are not statistically compared due to the small sample size. 2 Copyright 2019 by Brenna J. Hart-Farrar All Rights Reserved 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my committee members, Drs. Steven Wallace, Blaine Schubert, and Chris Widga, for all their help and advice over the past two years. Dr. Wallace has been the best advisor a person could ask for by always being available and willing to help me out no matter what. I also want to thank all of the GFS staff and volunteers for their hard work in excavating and prepping the mastodon, especially Shawn Haugrud and April Nye. Shawn is a genius and makes the fossils look amazing, and April Nye keeps the perfect amount of order in an otherwise chaotically fun environment. Their support means the world to me and everyone involved with the GFS. I would also like to thank the ETSU Center of Excellence in Paleontology for travel funding. Furthermore, I am very thankful to Dr. Richard Hulbert from the Florida Museum of Natural History for access to specimens and assistance with research. I want to thank my fellow graduate students for making the past 2 years so much fun and for being willing to listen to me talk about my proboscidean forefeet. Additionally, I have to thank my family for listening to me talk about my research and for being supportive even though they had no idea what I was talking about half of the time. A special shout out goes to my best friend, Alyssa Vernon, for helping me with my images. Finally, I give a gigantic thank you to my husband, Bryan Farrar, who has put up with my craziness with finishing this project. I know he is beyond ready to talk about something other than proboscidean bones. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................ 5 LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 16 Background Review of Proboscidea and Mammut ................................................................... 18 Gray Fossil Site ......................................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER 2. METHODS ............................................................................................................ 27 Collection and Conservation ..................................................................................................... 27 Measurements and Photography ............................................................................................... 28 Museums and Species ............................................................................................................... 28 Post-Cranial Comparisons ......................................................................................................... 29 Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................ 30 Museums, Localities, and Others .......................................................................................... 30 Articular Surfaces ................................................................................................................. 30 CHAPTER 3. GRAY MASTODON OF THE GRAY FOSSIL SITE ......................................... 34 Left Manus ................................................................................................................................ 35 Carpals .................................................................................................................................. 35 Pisiform. ............................................................................................................................ 35 Cuneiform. ........................................................................................................................ 37 Lunar. ................................................................................................................................ 41 Scaphoid. ........................................................................................................................... 46 Unciform ........................................................................................................................... 50 Magnum. ........................................................................................................................... 55 Trapezoid. ......................................................................................................................... 61 Trapezium. ........................................................................................................................ 65 Metacarpals ........................................................................................................................... 69 Metacarpal I. ..................................................................................................................... 69 Metacarpal II. .................................................................................................................... 74 Metacarpal III. .................................................................................................................. 80 Metacarpal V. .................................................................................................................... 85 Phalanges .............................................................................................................................. 88 5 Proximal Phalanges ........................................................................................................... 91 Proximal Phalanx Digit I. ............................................................................................. 91 Proximal Phalanx Digit II ............................................................................................. 95 Proximal Phalanx Digit III. ........................................................................................... 99 Proximal Phalanx Digit IV ......................................................................................... 104 Proximal Phalanx Digit V. .......................................................................................... 108 Medial Phalanges ............................................................................................................ 112 Medial Phalanx Digit II. ............................................................................................