ON the PURPORTED PRESENCE of FOSSILIZED COLLAGEN FIBRES in an ICHTHYOSAUR and a THEROPOD DINOSAUR by FIANN M
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PIR/PER) for the State Route 86 / Avenue 50 New Interchange Project, City of Coachella, Riverside County, California E-FIS 0801-000144 (EA 08-0C970
Combined Paleontological Identification Report / Paleontological Evaluation Report (PIR/PER) for the State Route 86 / Avenue 50 New Interchange Project, City of Coachella, Riverside County, California E-FIS 0801-000144 (EA 08-0C970) Submitted to: Kurt Heidelberg, Branch Chief Environmental Studies D California Department of Transportation, District 8 464 West 4th Street, 6th Floor, MS 825 San Bernardino, California 92401-1400 March 2018 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The City of Coachella (City), in cooperation with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 8 and Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG), proposes the construction of a new interchange at State Route 86 (SR-86) and Avenue 50 in the City of Coachella, Riverside County, California. The SR-86 /Avenue 50 New Interchange Project (Project) consists of converting a portion of SR-86 from an existing expressway to a freeway with a new overcrossing structure and access ramps. In addition, the proposed Project includes the realignment and widening of Avenue 50 and the realignment of portions of Tyler Street on both the east and west sides of SR-86. Finally, the Project would construct a new bridge over the Coachella Valley Stormwater Channel (CVSC) to replace the existing low water crossing. At the request of TranSystems, Applied EarthWorks, Inc. (Æ) performed a paleontological resource assessment in support of the proposed Project. The study consisted of a search of museum collections records maintained by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, a comprehensive literature and geologic map review, a field reconnaissance survey, and preparation of this combined Paleontological Identification Report (PIR) / Paleontological Evaluation Report (PER). -
Micropaleontological Association from the Middle Miocene Badenian Gypsum Deposits of Paratethys
geosciences Article A New Preparation Method of Microfauna from Gypsum: Micropaleontological Association from the Middle Miocene Badenian Gypsum Deposits of Paratethys Hans-Peter Bojar 1, Claudia Antoniade 2, Victor Barbu 3 and Ana-Voica Bojar 1,4,5,* 1 Studienzentrum Naturkunde—Mineralogie, Universalmuseum Joanneum, Weinzöttlstraße 16, 8045 Graz, Austria; [email protected] 2 OMV Petrom, Research and Design Institute of Technology Petrom Câmpina, Culturii Bldv 29, Câmpina, 15600 Prahova, Romania; [email protected] 3 OMV Petrom, Coralilor str. 22, 013329 Bucharest, Romania; [email protected] 4 Department Geographie und Geologie, Geologie, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstraße 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria 5 Faculty of Physics, Department of Structure of Matter, Earth and Atmospheric Physics and Astrophysics, University of Bucharest, Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta 4-12, 030018 Bucharest, Romania * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 23 March 2020; Accepted: 26 April 2020; Published: 28 April 2020 Abstract: Evaporitic gypsum deposits represent an important paleoenvironmental record of the Miocene Badenian of the Carpathian Mountains belt. In this study, we developed a nontoxic method to concentrate calcareous microfossils from gypsum (CaSO 2H O), by treating the sulfate with 4· 2 ammonium acetate. We applied the newly developed method to gypsum collected from the Evaporitic Formation outcropping northward of Slănic-Prahova in the Eastern Carpathians. For the first time for this formation, we describe a calcareous microfossil assemblage characterized by the presence of planktonic foraminifera as well as cysts and fragments of calcareous algae. Keywords: chemical preparation method; gypsum deposits; calcareous microfossil assemblage; Miocene; Eastern Carpathians 1. Introduction In the Earth’s history, sulfate rich marine waters are known for late Precambrian (Vendian), Pennsylvanian-Triassic, Miocene to Quaternary [1]. -
Postcranial Skeletal Pneumaticity in Sauropods and Its
Postcranial Pneumaticity in Dinosaurs and the Origin of the Avian Lung by Mathew John Wedel B.S. (University of Oklahoma) 1997 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Integrative Biology in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Kevin Padian, Co-chair Professor William Clemens, Co-chair Professor Marvalee Wake Professor David Wake Professor John Gerhart Spring 2007 1 The dissertation of Mathew John Wedel is approved: Co-chair Date Co-chair Date Date Date Date University of California, Berkeley Spring 2007 2 Postcranial Pneumaticity in Dinosaurs and the Origin of the Avian Lung © 2007 by Mathew John Wedel 3 Abstract Postcranial Pneumaticity in Dinosaurs and the Origin of the Avian Lung by Mathew John Wedel Doctor of Philosophy in Integrative Biology University of California, Berkeley Professor Kevin Padian, Co-chair Professor William Clemens, Co-chair Among extant vertebrates, postcranial skeletal pneumaticity is present only in birds. In birds, diverticula of the lungs and air sacs pneumatize specific regions of the postcranial skeleton. The relationships among pulmonary components and the regions of the skeleton that they pneumatize form the basis for inferences about the pulmonary anatomy of non-avian dinosaurs. Fossae, foramina and chambers in the postcranial skeletons of pterosaurs and saurischian dinosaurs are diagnostic for pneumaticity. In basal saurischians only the cervical skeleton is pneumatized. Pneumatization by cervical air sacs is the most consilient explanation for this pattern. In more derived sauropods and theropods pneumatization of the posterior dorsal, sacral, and caudal vertebrae indicates that abdominal air sacs were also present. -
Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology EDUCATOR's GUIDE
Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology EDUCATOR’S GUIDE Dear Educator: This guide is recommended for educators of grades K-4 and is designed to help you prepare students for their Alf Museum visit, as well as to provide resources to enhance your classroom curriculum. This packet includes background information about the Alf Museum and the science of paleontology, a summary of our museum guidelines and what to expect, a pre-visit checklist, a series of content standard-aligned activities/exercises for classroom use before and/or after your visit, and a list of relevant terms and additional resources. Please complete and return the enclosed evaluation form to help us improve this guide to better serve your needs. Thank you! Paleontology: The Study of Ancient Life Paleontology is the study of ancient life. The history of past life on Earth is interpreted by scientists through the examination of fossils, the preserved remains of organisms which lived in the geologic past (more than 10,000 years ago). There are two main types of fossils: body fossils, the preserved remains of actual organisms (e.g. shells/hard parts, teeth, bones, leaves, etc.) and trace fossils, the preserved evidence of activity by organisms (e.g. footprints, burrows, fossil dung). Chances for fossil preservation are enhanced by (1) the presence of hard parts (since soft parts generally rot or are eaten, preventing preservation) and (2) rapid burial (preventing disturbance by bio- logical or physical actions). Many body fossils are skeletal remains (e.g. bones, teeth, shells, exoskel- etons). Most form when an animal or plant dies and then is buried by sediment (e.g. -
FOSSIL PREPARATION KIT by Dave Letasi and Terrie Nolinske
p FOSSIL PREPARATION KIT By Dave Letasi and Terrie Nolinske DESCRIPTION This kit includes a real fossil bone from a prehistoric animal and a fossil of a marine animal. A scientific label is also provided with your fossil specimens. The Fossil Preparation Kit instructs you in the cleaning and preparation of invertebrate and vertebrate fossils, following the same process used by paleontologists. By adding several common household items, you can create a fossil preparation lab in your classroom or kitchen. In the first activity, you use basic tools to clean a marine invertebrate fossil. Using a mild household chemical, you will remove the rocky crust found on the fossil and study the details of its anatomical structures. In the second activity, you will preserve fossil vertebrate bone fragments before fitting the fragments back together to create the original structure. GOALS You will be able to… demonstrate procedures used by scientists to reconstruct fossil fragments and turn them into specimens for study or display; learn and implement scientific procedures used in the safe handling of chemicals used for cleaning fossils; and identify at least three ways in which fossils allow scientists to study life forms from the prehistoric past. ARE YOU A TEACHER? The subject matter in this kit is aligned with the following Sunshine State Standards: Grades 3-5: SC. D.1.2.1, SC. D. 2.2.1 SC. H.! 2.1, SC.H.1.2.2, SC.H.2.2.1 Grades 6-8: SC.D.1.3.1, SC.h.1.3.1, SC.H.1.3.2, SC.G.2.3.1 Grades 9-12: SC.D.1.4.2, SC.D.1.4.4, SC.D.2.4.1, SC.G.2.4.1 2 HELPFUL TIPS To complement activities in this kit, you might want to read about prehistory and fossils before you start. -
A Palaeobiologist's Guide to 'Virtual' Micro-CT Preparation
Palaeontologia Electronica palaeo-electronica.org A palaeobiologist’s guide to ‘virtual’ micro-CT preparation Richard Leslie Abel, Carolina Rettondini Laurini, and Martha Richter ABSTRACT This paper provides a brief but comprehensive guide to creating, preparing and dissecting a ‘virtual’ fossil, using a worked example to demonstrate some standard data processing techniques. Computed tomography (CT) is a 3D imaging modality for producing ‘virtual’ models of an object on a computer. In the last decade, CT technol- ogy has greatly improved, allowing bigger and denser objects to be scanned increas- ingly rapidly. The technique has now reached a stage where systems can facilitate large-scale, non-destructive comparative studies of extinct fossils and their living rela- tives. Consequently the main limiting factor in CT-based analyses is no longer scan- ning, but the hurdles of data processing (see disclaimer). The latter comprises the techniques required to convert a 3D CT volume (stack of digital slices) into a virtual image of the fossil that can be prepared (separated) from the matrix and ‘dissected’ into its anatomical parts. This technique can be applied to specimens or part of speci- mens embedded in the rock matrix that until now have been otherwise impossible to visualise. This paper presents a suggested workflow explaining the steps required, using as example a fossil tooth of Sphenacanthus hybodoides (Egerton), a shark from the Late Carboniferous of England. The original NHMUK copyrighted CT slice stack can be downloaded for practice of the described techniques, which include segmenta- tion, rendering, movie animation, stereo-anaglyphy, data storage and dissemination. Fragile, rare specimens and type materials in university and museum collections can therefore be virtually processed for a variety of purposes, including virtual loans, web- site illustrations, publications and digital collections. -
Hierarchical Clustering Analysis Suppcdr.Cdr
Distance Hierarchical joiningclustering 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 Sinosauropteryx Caudipteryx Eoraptor Compsognathus Compsognathus Compsognathus Compsognathus Megaraptora basal Coelurosauria Noasauridae Neotheropoda non-averostran T non-tyrannosaurid Dromaeosauridae basalmost Theropoda Oviraptorosauria Compsognathidae Therizinosauria T A yrannosauroidea Compsognathus roodontidae ves Compsognathus Compsognathus Compsognathus Compsognathus Compsognathus Compsognathus Compsognathus Compsognathus Compsognathus Compsognathus Compsognathus Compsognathus Compsognathus Richardoestesia Scipionyx Buitreraptor Compsognathus Troodon Compsognathus Compsognathus Compsognathus Juravenator Sinosauropteryx Juravenator Juravenator Sinosauropteryx Incisivosaurus Coelophysis Scipionyx Richardoestesia Compsognathus Compsognathus Compsognathus Richardoestesia Richardoestesia Richardoestesia Richardoestesia Compsognathus Richardoestesia Juravenator Richardoestesia Richardoestesia Richardoestesia Richardoestesia Buitreraptor Saurornitholestes Ichthyornis Saurornitholestes Ichthyornis Richardoestesia Richardoestesia Richardoestesia Richardoestesia Richardoestesia Juravenator Scipionyx Buitreraptor Coelophysis Richardoestesia Coelophysis Richardoestesia Richardoestesia Richardoestesia Richardoestesia Coelophysis Richardoestesia Bambiraptor Richardoestesia Richardoestesia Velociraptor Juravenator Saurornitholestes Saurornitholestes Buitreraptor Coelophysis Coelophysis Ornitholestes Richardoestesia Richardoestesia Juravenator Saurornitholestes Velociraptor Saurornitholestes -
Cranial Anatomy of Allosaurus Jimmadseni, a New Species from the Lower Part of the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Western North America
Cranial anatomy of Allosaurus jimmadseni, a new species from the lower part of the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Western North America Daniel J. Chure1,2,* and Mark A. Loewen3,4,* 1 Dinosaur National Monument (retired), Jensen, UT, USA 2 Independent Researcher, Jensen, UT, USA 3 Natural History Museum of Utah, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA 4 Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA * These authors contributed equally to this work. ABSTRACT Allosaurus is one of the best known theropod dinosaurs from the Jurassic and a crucial taxon in phylogenetic analyses. On the basis of an in-depth, firsthand study of the bulk of Allosaurus specimens housed in North American institutions, we describe here a new theropod dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Western North America, Allosaurus jimmadseni sp. nov., based upon a remarkably complete articulated skeleton and skull and a second specimen with an articulated skull and associated skeleton. The present study also assigns several other specimens to this new species, Allosaurus jimmadseni, which is characterized by a number of autapomorphies present on the dermal skull roof and additional characters present in the postcrania. In particular, whereas the ventral margin of the jugal of Allosaurus fragilis has pronounced sigmoidal convexity, the ventral margin is virtually straight in Allosaurus jimmadseni. The paired nasals of Allosaurus jimmadseni possess bilateral, blade-like crests along the lateral margin, forming a pronounced nasolacrimal crest that is absent in Allosaurus fragilis. Submitted 20 July 2018 Accepted 31 August 2019 Subjects Paleontology, Taxonomy Published 24 January 2020 Keywords Allosaurus, Allosaurus jimmadseni, Dinosaur, Theropod, Morrison Formation, Jurassic, Corresponding author Cranial anatomy Mark A. -
NPS Museum Handbook, Part I Appendix U: Curatorial Care Of
Appendix U: Curatorial Care of Paleontological and Geological Collections Page Section I: Paleontological Collections.....................................................................................................U:1 A. Overview............................................................................................................................................U:1 What information concerning paleontological collections will I find in this appendix? .......................U:1 Why is it important to practice preventive conservation with paleontological specimens?................U:1 How do I learn about preventive conservation?.................................................................................U:1 Where can I find the latest information on care of paleontological specimens? ................................U:2 B. Paleontological Collections and Fossils ......................................................................................U:2 What are paleontological collections?................................................................................................U:2 What is a fossil? .................................................................................................................................U:2 Are there other types of fossils?.........................................................................................................U:2 How can I identify the fossils in my collection? ..................................................................................U:3 C. Body Fossils ....................................................................................................................................U:3 -
Fossil Footnotes
Fossil Footnotes Central Texas Paleontological Society March 2005 President’s Report FOSSIL of the MONTH Many of you have seen this before but it is worth Hi to all. Mercy this weather has been cold and showing again. It is a spectacular, perfectly nasty. I have been suffering with a bad cold as a preserved Cidarid sea urchin found by Mike result and am just now getting over it. I hope Smith a couple of years ago on a field trip to everyone else has made it through unscathed. Lake Travis hosted by Hal Hopkins. These are The one good thing, with all this rain, hopefully extremely rare and a once in a lifetime find. a lot of fossils will weather out for us to collect. Lower Cretaceous - Lower Glen Rose Formation We had a great February meeting with excellent attendance. A lot of new faces and new members attended which we were all very happy to see. Welcome to all of the new members. On a cool wet Saturday February the 19th four club members volunteered their time to man a table at the Austin Children’s Museum grand opening of there Dinosaur Expo. The four were Marcelle Spilker, David Lindberg, Mike Smith and Danny Harlow. There was excellent attendance and we all had a lot of fun showing the kids and parents Fossils of Texas. It will be open every Saturday on into the summer so go by a see it if you get a chance. See you at the March meeting! Danny March Meeting to be held on CTPS Minutes February 8, 2005 Tuesday, March 8, 2005 The meeting had a great turn out with several The March meeting will be at the LCRA new members. -
The Mesozoic Mesozoic Things to Think About
The Mesozoic Mesozoic Things to think about • Breakup of Pangea and its relationship to sealevel and climate • Dominance of reptiles • Origin of birds • Origin of mammals • Origin of flowers (angiosperms) • Expansion of insects • Life in the seas assumes an (almost) modern form 1 2 3 4 5 Triassic Period 248 to 206 Million Years Ago 6 The Connecticut River Valley 7 Dinosaur Footprints of the Connecticut Valley Edward Hitchcock Fossil Fish of the Connecticut Valley 8 Jurassic Period 206 to 144 Million Years Ago 9 Cretaceous Period 144 to 65 Million Years Ago 10 11 Mesozoic Ammonites 12 Cretaceous Heteromorph Ammonites Nipponites mirabilis Kamchatka, Russia Macroscaphites sp. Baculites sp. Didymoceras stevensoni Rudistid Bivalves: Jurassic- Cretaceous 13 Durania cornupastoris at Abu Roash, Western Desert near Gizah, Egypt Fringing Upper Cretaceous rudist reef reservoirs flanking basement highs, Augila oil field, eastern Libya Reef-forming rudist (Radiolites) from Sarvak Formation, Cenomanian, south Iran. 14 Biostrome of hippuritid rudists at Montagne des Cornes; Santonian, Pyrenees, France Rudistid Buildups 15 Biostrome of Vaccinites vesiculosus (Woodward, 1855); Campanian of Saiwan, Oman Monopleura marcida Albian, Viotía, Greece 16 Chalk 17 Pterosaurs Mosasaurs 18 Plesiosaurs Ichthyosaurs 19 A Dinosaur Family Tree (aka Phylogeny) 20 Sauropods Theropods 21 Dilong paradoxus Early Cretaceous, China A feathered tyrannosaurid? 22 A Dinosaur Family Tree (aka Phylogeny) Ornithopods (aka Hadrosaurs) 23 Thyreophorans (aka Ankylosaurs, etc) Margincephalians (aka Ceratopsians) 24 A Dinosaur Family Tree (aka Phylogeny) The Liaoning Fauna: An early Cretaceous Lagerstatten Some highlights: -- feathered dinosaurs -- preserved internal organs -- oldest placental mammal 25 The Liaoning Fauna The Liaoning Fauna Caudipteryx. Microraptor gui MICRORAPTOR zhaoianus. -
Body-Size Evolution in the Dinosauria
8 Body-Size Evolution in the Dinosauria Matthew T. Carrano Introduction The evolution of body size and its influence on organismal biology have received scientific attention since the earliest decades of evolutionary study (e.g., Cope, 1887, 1896; Thompson, 1917). Both paleontologists and neontologists have attempted to determine correlations between body size and numerous aspects of life history, with the ultimate goal of docu- menting both the predictive and causal connections involved (LaBarbera, 1986, 1989). These studies have generated an appreciation for the thor- oughgoing interrelationships between body size and nearly every sig- nificant facet of organismal biology, including metabolism (Lindstedt & Calder, 1981; Schmidt-Nielsen, 1984; McNab, 1989), population ecology (Damuth, 1981; Juanes, 1986; Gittleman & Purvis, 1998), locomotion (Mc- Mahon, 1975; Biewener, 1989; Alexander, 1996), and reproduction (Alex- ander, 1996). An enduring focus of these studies has been Cope’s Rule, the notion that body size tends to increase over time within lineages (Kurtén, 1953; Stanley, 1973; Polly, 1998). Such an observation has been made regarding many different clades but has been examined specifically in only a few (MacFadden, 1986; Arnold et al., 1995; Jablonski, 1996, 1997; Trammer & Kaim, 1997, 1999; Alroy, 1998). The discordant results of such analyses have underscored two points: (1) Cope’s Rule does not apply universally to all groups; and (2) even when present, size increases in different clades may reflect very different underlying processes. Thus, the question, “does Cope’s Rule exist?” is better parsed into two questions: “to which groups does Cope’s Rule apply?” and “what process is responsible for it in each?” Several recent works (McShea, 1994, 2000; Jablonski, 1997; Alroy, 1998, 2000a, 2000b) have begun to address these more specific questions, attempting to quantify patterns of body-size evolution in a phylogenetic (rather than strictly temporal) context, as well as developing methods for interpreting the resultant patterns.