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Chondrichthyes) Worldwide and New Occurrences from Colorado and Texas Wayne M

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Chondrichthyes) Worldwide and New Occurrences from Colorado and Texas Wayne M This article was downloaded by: [Laurentian University] On: 02 October 2013, At: 21:18 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ghbi20 Systematics and occurrences of Edestus (Chondrichthyes) worldwide and new occurrences from Colorado and Texas Wayne M. Itano a , Karen J. Houck b & Martin G. Lockley b a Museum of Natural History, University of Colorado, 1995 Dartmouth Ave, Boulder, CO, 80305, USA b Dinosaur Tracks Museum, University of Colorado Denver, PO Box 173364, Denver, CO, 80217, USA Published online: 02 Aug 2012. To cite this article: Wayne M. Itano , Karen J. Houck & Martin G. Lockley (2012) Systematics and occurrences of Edestus (Chondrichthyes) worldwide and new occurrences from Colorado and Texas, Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology, 24:4, 397-410, DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2012.658569 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2012.658569 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http:// www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions Historical Biology Vol. 24, No. 4, August 2012, 397–410 Systematics and occurrences of Edestus (Chondrichthyes) worldwide and new occurrences from Colorado and Texas Wayne M. Itanoa*, Karen J. Houckb1 and Martin G. Lockleyb2 aMuseum of Natural History, University of Colorado, 1995 Dartmouth Ave, Boulder, CO, 80305, USA; bDinosaur Tracks Museum, University of Colorado Denver, PO Box 173364, Denver, CO, 80217, USA (Received 13 January 2011; final version received 15 January 2012) The species of Edestus Leidy (Chondrichthyes, Edestidae) are divided into two groups: those close to Edestus minor Newberry and those close to Edestus heinrichi Newberry and Worthen. The occurrences of Edestus worldwide (North America, Britain and Russia) are reviewed. In North America, Edestus occurs in the Illinois Basin and in the western United States, including South Dakota, Colorado and Texas, but not in marine beds of the same age in the Appalachian Basin. The absence of Edestus in the Appalachian Basin supports the idea that Edestus required access to the open sea, even if its remains are sometimes found in shallow or marginal marine deposits. The chronostratigraphic range of Edestus is from the middle Atokan through the Desmoinesian (Middle Pennsylvanian). All Atokan and lower Desmoinesian occurrences are from the E. minor group. The ranges of the E. minor group and the E. heinrichi group overlap in the upper Desmoinesian. We report two teeth of E. minor from the latest Atokan, in the Minturn Formation at McCoy, Eagle County Colorado. This is the first report of the genus from the southern Rocky Mountain region. We report some teeth of Edestus from Texas for the first time. Keywords: Edestus; Chondrichthyes; sharks; Pennsylvanian; Colorado; Texas Introduction probably represents a ventral whorl of E. heinrichi because Edestus Leidy 1856b is a genus of Carboniferous it is relatively slender and resembles the whorl J-4 chondrichthyans known almost entirely from their tentatively identified by Zangerl and Jeremiah (2004) as symphysial teeth. The crowns, which are roughly ventral. A partially decomposed skull of a juvenile triangular and have serrated edges, are attached to Edestus, specimen FMNH PF2204, preserved in shale and elongated bases, which project posteriorly. Behind the visible by X-ray photography, shows the two whorls in crowns, the bases are open and hollow, so that the newest place and protruding from the front of the head (Zangerl (most posterior) tooth can fit into the trough of the next and Jeremiah 2004, Figure 1). (older) tooth. The oldest (most anterior) teeth were shed. As many as 10 teeth might be present in a tooth whorl at any given time. Figure 1 shows a tooth whorl of Edestus Institutional abbreviations heinrichi Newberry and Worthen 1870. Figure 2 indicates DMNH, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, the way in which the teeth fit together (Eastman 1902a, CO, USA; TMM, Texas Memorial Museum, University of Figure 7). In Edestus, the tooth bases project posteriorly, Texas, Austin, TX, USA; FMNH, Field Museum of while in some other edestoids, such as Helicoprion Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA; USNM, National Downloaded by [Laurentian University] at 21:18 02 October 2013 Karpinsky 1899, they project anteriorly. Each individual Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, USA; possessed two tooth whorls, one in the upper jaw and the UMMP, University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology, other in the lower jaw. An associated pair of whorls, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; OUZC, Ohio University Zoological preserved nearly in their natural position with respect to Collections, Athens, OH, USA; ACM, Beneski Museum of one another, was described by Hay (1912). That specimen Natural History, Amherst College, Amherst, MA, USA; is the holotype of Edestus mirus Hay 1912. The upper BHIGR, Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, Hill (dorsal) and lower (ventral) whorls differ in shape, the City, SD, USA. ventral one being more slender and more curved than the dorsal one. Two small teeth resembling those of the genera Campodus de Koninck 1844 or Orodus Agassiz 1843 were Materials and methods associated with the specimen and may be part of the We refer to Ginter et al. (2010) for taxonomic assignments dentition of the same animal (Hay 1912, p. 36). Figure 1 of genus and higher. The North American stages of the *Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] ISSN 0891-2963 print/ISSN 1029-2381 online q 2012 Taylor & Francis http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2012.658569 http://www.tandfonline.com 398 W.M. Itano et al. Figure 1. Ventral symphysial tooth whorl of E. heinrichi (cast) in lateral view. Anterior end on the right. Fourth tooth crown from posterior end is restored. Pennsylvanian Period (Morrowan, Atokan, Desmoinesian) environment of the Minturn Formation in the vicinity of are used preferentially, with British, European and Russian McCoy has been described previously (Chronic and stages and substages converted into the North American Stevens 1958; Houck 1997; Itano et al. 2003). Figure 4 is a ones insofar as is possible. generalised stratigraphic column. Nineteen numbered The E. heinrichi cast in Figure 1 was obtained from the stratigraphic units were recognised by Chronic and Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, Hill City, SD, Stevens (1958). During the Middle Pennsylvanian, this USA. It is figured here with permission from the BHIGR. The original is from the Anna Shale Member, Carbondale Formation, Kewanee Group, Randolph County, Sparta, IL, USA. The Carbondale Formation is upper Desmoinesian. The specimens from the Minturn Formation were collected by members of the Western Interior Paleonto- logical Society (Denver) and are reposited at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Only surface collection was used. In the course of this study, some Edestus specimens were located in the collections of the Texas Memorial Museum and are described and figured here, with such provenance information as is available. Locality and stratigraphy The area around McCoy, Eagle County, CO, where the Minturn Formation specimens of Edestus were found, is Downloaded by [Laurentian University] at 21:18 02 October 2013 shown in Figure 3. The stratigraphy and depositional Figure 3. (A) Map of Colorado, showing the town of McCoy, near the boundary of Routt and Eagle Counties; and (B) enlarged Figure 2. Teeth of a single tooth whorl of Edestus heinrichi, view of the area around the towns of McCoy and Bond. separated to show the way in which they fit together (after The Edestus specimens DMNH 61071 and 61072 were found at Eastman 1902a, Figure 7). Total horizontal extent is 16 cm. Localities 1 and 2, respectively. Historical Biology 399 1874), are also present. Other taxa include the dermal denticle Petrodus patelliformis M’Coy 1848 and dorsal finspines belonging to the species Ctenacanthus buttersi St. John and Worthen 1883, ‘Ctenacanthus’ furcicarinatus Newberry 1875 and Acondylacanthus nuperus St. John and Worthen 1883, and to the genera Physonemus M’Coy 1848 and Bythiacanthus St. John and Worthen 1875 (two morphotypes). The most abundant of the denticle and spine remains are fragments of C. buttersi finspines. At present, none of the denticle or spine taxa can be linked with certainty to any of the species on the basis of teeth. Systematics of Edestus Here we accept the generic assignments of Ginter et al. (2010), who list 11 species of Edestus. Some of these species may prove to be synonymous with one another, since they were based on single or few specimens, with little knowledge of individual variation, ontogeny or possible differences between teeth of the dorsal and ventral whorls.
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