DOCSLIB.ORG

A New Fossil-Lagerstätte from the Late Devonian of Morocco : Faunal Composition, Taphonomy and Paleoecology

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A New Fossil-Lagerstätte from the Late Devonian of Morocco : Faunal Composition, Taphonomy and Paleoecology Zurich Open Repository and Archive University of Zurich Main Library Strickhofstrasse 39 CH-8057 Zurich www.zora.uzh.ch Year: 2019 A new fossil-Lagerstätte from the Late Devonian of Morocco : faunal composition, taphonomy and paleoecology Frey, Linda Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich ZORA URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-177848 Dissertation Published Version Originally published at: Frey, Linda. A new fossil-Lagerstätte from the Late Devonian of Morocco : faunal composition, taphon- omy and paleoecology. 2019, University of Zurich, Faculty of Science. A New Fossil-Lagerstätte from the Late Devonian of Morocco: Faunal Composition, Taphonomy and Palaeoecology Dissertation zur Erlangung der naturwissenschaftlichen Doktorwürde (Dr. sc. nat.) vorgelegt der Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Zürich von Linda Frey von St. Ursen FR Promotionskommission Prof. Dr. Christian Klug (Leitung der Dissertation) Prof. Dr. Hugo Bucher Prof. Dr. Marcelo Sánchez Prof. Dr. Michael Coates Dr. Martin Rücklin Zürich, 2019 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................2 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................................5 CHAPTER I Late Devonian and Early Carboniferous alpha diversity, ecospace occupation, vertebrate assemblages and bio-events of southeastern Morocco ..............................27 CHAPTER II Fossil-Lagerstätten and preservation of invertebrates and vertebrates from the Devonian in the eastern Anti-Atlas (Morocco) ...........................................................61 CHAPTER III Morphology, phylogenetic relationships and ecomorphology of the early elasmobranch Phoebodus ............................................................................................89 CHAPTER IV Functional morphology of mandibular arches in symmoriids as exemplifi ed by Ferromirum oukherbouchi gen. et sp. nov. (Late Devonian) ...............................135 CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................................167 APPENDIX Appendix A Collaboration with other projects (abstracts) ............................................................171 Appendix B Additional article published during doctoral studies ................................................175 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................................203 CURRICULUM VITAE ........................................................................................................................207 Abstract The Late Devonian (382. 7 to 358.9 Ma) was a period of intense environmental perturbations and fun- damental changes in marine ecosystems impacting also the marine vertebrates. Two extinction events, namely the Kellwasser Event (Frasnian-Famennian boundary) and the Hangenberg Crisis (latest Devoni- an) caused severe losses in diversity. Especially several groups of gnathostomes were strongly affected by the Hangenberg Crisis, which represents a bottleneck in the evolutionary history of jawed vertebrates. The marine ecosystem became reshaped and the previously diverse placoderms went extinct and the taxonomic diversity of acanthodians decreased, while other chondrichthyans and osteichthyans diversifi ed. From the stratigraphic interval between the Kellwasser and the Hangenberg crises, well-preserved remains of plac- oderms and isolated teeth were well documented from Morocco before. By contrast, articulated remains of chondrichthyans were discovered only recently from the Famennian of the Maïder region (Morocco) within this PhD project. Most fossil fi sh were found in a stratigraphic interval with abundant remains of thylacocephalan arthropods preserved in ferruginous nodules (early/ middle Famennian Thylacocephalan Layer). These gnathostomes include both known and new taxa of sarcopterygians (onychodontids), plac- oderms (Dunkleosteus, Titanichthys, Alienacanthus and Driscollaspis) and chondrichthyans (phoebodon- tids, symmoriids, and several new cladodont chondrichthyans). In the framework of this thesis, the remains of chondrichthyans were in the main focus because their skeletons are rarely preserved in the fossil record due to the fragility of their cartilaginous skeletons. The Famennian chondrichthyans of the Maïder region often preserve three-dimensional skulls, the visceral as well as postcranial skeleton (pectoral and pelvic girdles with articulated fi ns, dorsal fi ns with fi n spines, neural arches and sometimes the caudal fi n) and even mineralized soft-tissues (muscles, liver, digestive tract). Therefore, the discovery of such remains of Devonian chondrichthyans is of importance to examine their phylogenetic relationships, their morpholog- ical disparity and to reconstruct their ecological diversity including changes in the respective ecological roles of these vertebrate groups in the marine ecosystems. In chapter I, the palaeoenvironment of the gnathostome-bearing stratigraphic interval of the Maïder was quantitatively investigated by analysing the diversity and palaeocology of the accompanying inverte- brate faunas. For this purpose, 21 invertebrate associations from early Famennian to early Carboniferous age of the Maïder region (17 from Madene el Mrakib, four from Aguelmous) were sampled and deter- mined. Based on the composition of these associations, alpha diversity (changes in species richness at a single locality through time), ecospace occupation (three-dimensional modes of life including tiering, motility, and feeding mode) and trophic nucleus (dominant taxa of each association) were analysed. The species richness, ecospace occupation as well as the ratio between pelagic and benthic organisms were fl uctuating during the Famennian and Tournaisian. Those ecological changes correlate with numerous bio-events coinciding with fl uctuating global and/ or regional sea level and changes in oxygenation during the Devonian. Although the sea fl oor might have been a bit better oxygenated (extended ecospace includ- ing benthic modes of life) in some stratigraphic intervals, the Fammennian of the study area was mostly hypoxic to dysoxic because of the low taxonomic diversity of benthic invertebrates and the dominance of pelagic or benthic taxa tolerant to oxygen depletion. This is supported by the absence of benthic gnatho- stomes in the Maïder (including microremains). The taphonomy of the gnathostomes of the Famennian Thylacocephalan Layer and some other Devo- nian Fossillagerstätten was investigated in Chapter II. The mineral composition of the remains of gnatho- stomes, thylacocephalans and some other invertebrates from various localities were analysed by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. To understand the genesis of the Famennian Fossillagerstätten, the mineral analyses were combined with the current knowledge of the palaeogeography and palaecology of the Maïder region. The fossils mainly contain iron oxides (oxidised pyrite) and phosphates. The Maïder was a basin isolated by land and two submarine ridges (Tafi lalt and Maïder Platform) from neighbouring basins, which limited water exchange and thus also oxygen supply during the Devonian. This palaeogeo- graphic setting in combination with the mineral composition of the fossils, the soft-tissue preservation and the low abundance of benthos (even a complete lack of benthic chondrichthyans), the Thylacocephalan Layer with exceptionally well-preserved chondrichthyans represents the fi rst Konservat-Lagerstätte (con- servation deposit) of the Devonian of North Africa. In chapter III, the morphology and palaeoecology of Phoebodus, a common and cosmopolitan chon- drichthyan from the Devonian (Givetian to Famennian), previously only known from isolated teeth, is 2 Abstract described. Phoebodus saidselachus sp. nov. of the Famennian of the Maïder region is the fi rst specimen of this genus preserving body, soft-tissue and skull remains. Its body and skull are slender and more elongate than those of other Palaeozoic chondrichthyans. Phylogenetic analyses based on a data matrix including 228 characters of 65 taxa and one outgroup taxon place Phoebodus saidselachus sp. nov. within the stem elasmobranchs. Therefore, the Devonian genus Phoebodus is the oldest stem elasmobranch with an elon- gate body shape. Other stem elasmobranchs with such body shapes are known from younger strata such as the phoebodontid Thrinacodus gracia from the Carboniferous of Bear Gulch and several taxa of xenacan- thids from the Permian. Therefore, chondrichthyans were morphologically and ecologically more diverse in the Devonian before the vertebrate bottleneck of the Hangenberg Crisis than previously thought. Chapter IV focuses on the jaw function of symmoriiform chondrichthyans. Although the fossil re- cord of Palaeozoic chondrichthyans improved in recent years, the functional morphology of anatomical elements such as the visceral skeleton are not known in detail due to the often fragmentary or deformed preservation. For example, there was a long debate about whether hyoids had a suspensory function or not (aphetohyoidean hypothesis) in symmoriids. The newly discovered chondrichthyan Ferromirum oukher- bouchi gen. et sp. nov. from the Maïder Basin has exceptionally well-preserved and undeformed mandib- ular and branchial arches.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • FISHING for DUNKLEOSTEUS You’Re Definitely Gonna Need a Bigger Boat by Mark Peter
    OOhhiioo GGeeoollooggyy EEXXTTRRAA July 31, 2019 FISHING FOR DUNKLEOSTEUS You’re definitely gonna need a bigger boat by Mark Peter At an estimated maximum length of 6 to 8.8 meters (20–29 sediments that eroded from the Acadian Mountains, combined feet), Dunkleosteus terrelli (Fig. 1) would have been a match for with abundant organic matter from newly evolved land plants even the Hollywood-sized great white shark from the and marine plankton, settled in the basin as dark organic movie Jaws. Surfers, scuba divers, and swimmers can relax, muds. Over millions of years, accumulation of additional however, because Dunkleosteus has been extinct for nearly 360 overlying sediments compacted the muds into black shale rock. million years. Dunkleosteus was a placoderm, a type of armored The rocks that formed from the Late Devonian seafloor fish, that lived during the Late Devonian Period from about sediments (along with fossils of Dunkleosteus) arrived at their 375–359 million years ago. Fossil remains of the large present location of 41 degrees north latitude after several species Dunkleosteus terrelli are present in the Cleveland hundred million years of slow plate tectonic movement as the Member of the Ohio Shale, which contains rocks that are North American Plate moved northward. approximately 360–359 million years old. Figure 1. A reconstruction of a fully-grown Dunkleosteus terrelli, assuming a length of 29 feet, with angler for scale. Modified from illustration by Hugo Salais of Metazoa Studio. Dunkleosteus cruised Late Devonian seas and oceans as an Figure 2. Paleogeographic reconstruction of eastern North America during apex predator, much like the great white shark of today.
    [Show full text]
  • Two New Crinoids from Lower Mississippian Rocks in Southeastern Kentucky
    TWO NEW CRINOIDS FROM LOWER MISSISSIPPIAN ROCKS IN SOUTHEASTERN KENTUCKY BY GEORGE M. EHLERS AND ROBERT V. KESLING Reprinted from JOURNAL OF PALEONTOLOGY Val. 37, No. 5, September, 1963 JOURNALOF PALEONTOLOGY,V. 37, NO. 5, P. 1028-1041, PLS. 133,134, 3 TEXT-FIGS., SEPTEMBER,1963 TWO NEW CRINOIDS FROM L20\'C7ERMISSISSIPPIAN ROCKS IN SOUTHEASTERN KENTUCKY GEORGE M. EHLERS AKD ROBERT V. ICESLING Museum of Paleontology, The University of Michigan .~BsTR.~~T-AII~~~~specimens collected many years ago bl- the senior author and his students near Mill Springs, Kentucky, are a new species of Agaricocrinzis and a new speries of Actino- crinites. Although only one specimen of each is known, it is well preserved. The new Agnrico- crinus bears a resemblance to A. ponderoszts Wood, and the new Actinocriniles to four species described by Miller & Gurley: A. spergenensis, A. botuztosz~s,A. gibsoni, and A. shnronensis. A preliminary survey of species assigned to Agaricocrinz~ssuggests that revision of the genus is overdue. Although the occurrence of the specimens leaves some doubt as to their stratigraphic posi- tion, we conclude that they both probably weathered from the Fort Payne formation and rolled down the slope onto the New Providence, where they were found. The sites where the crinoids were picked up are now deeply inundated by water impounded by the Wolf Creek dam on the Cumberland River. INTRODUCTION onto the New Providence, \$here they were OTH of the new crinoids described here are found. rZt present, both the New Providence B from Lower Mississippian rocks in the valley formation and the I~asalbeds of the Fort Payne of the Cumberland River in Wayne and Russell are underwater at the type locality of the new Counties, Kentucky.
    [Show full text]
  • Message from the New Chairman
    Subcommission on Devonian Stratigraphy Newsletter No. 21 April, 2005 MESSAGE FROM THE NEW CHAIRMAN Dear SDS Members: This new Newsletter gives me the pleasant opportunity to thank you for your confidence which should allow me to lead our Devonian Subcommission successfully through the next four years until the next International Geological Congress in Norway. Ahmed El Hassani, as Vice-Chairman, and John Marshall, as our new Secretary, will assist and help me. As it has been our habit in the past, our outgoing chairman, Pierre Bultynck, has continued his duties until the end of the calendar year, and in the name of all the Subcommission, I like to express our warmest thanks to him for all his efforts, his enthusi- asm for our tasks, his patience with the often too slow progress of research, and for the humorous, well organized and skil- ful handling of our affairs, including our annual meetings. At the same time I like to thank all our outgoing Titular Members for their partly long-time service and I express my hope that they will continue their SDS work with the same interest and energy as Corresponding Members. The new ICS rules require a rather constant change of voting members and the change from TM to CM status should not necessarily be taken as an excuse to adopt the lifestyle of a “Devonian pensioner”. I see no reason why constantly active SDS members shouldn´t become TM again, at a later stage. On the other side, the rather strong exchange of voting members should bring in some fresh ideas and some shift towards modern stratigraphical tech- niques.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 2 Paleozoic Stratigraphy of the Grand Canyon
    CHAPTER 2 PALEOZOIC STRATIGRAPHY OF THE GRAND CANYON PAIGE KERCHER INTRODUCTION The Paleozoic Era of the Phanerozoic Eon is defined as the time between 542 and 251 million years before the present (ICS 2010). The Paleozoic Era began with the evolution of most major animal phyla present today, sparked by the novel adaptation of skeletal hard parts. Organisms continued to diversify throughout the Paleozoic into increasingly adaptive and complex life forms, including the first vertebrates, terrestrial plants and animals, forests and seed plants, reptiles, and flying insects. Vast coal swamps covered much of mid- to low-latitude continental environments in the late Paleozoic as the supercontinent Pangaea began to amalgamate. The hardiest taxa survived the multiple global glaciations and mass extinctions that have come to define major time boundaries of this era. Paleozoic North America existed primarily at mid to low latitudes and experienced multiple major orogenies and continental collisions. For much of the Paleozoic, North America’s southwestern margin ran through Nevada and Arizona – California did not yet exist (Appendix B). The flat-lying Paleozoic rocks of the Grand Canyon, though incomplete, form a record of a continental margin repeatedly inundated and vacated by shallow seas (Appendix A). IMPORTANT STRATIGRAPHIC PRINCIPLES AND CONCEPTS • Principle of Original Horizontality – In most cases, depositional processes produce flat-lying sedimentary layers. Notable exceptions include blanketing ash sheets, and cross-stratification developed on sloped surfaces. • Principle of Superposition – In an undisturbed sequence, older strata lie below younger strata; a package of sedimentary layers youngs upward. • Principle of Lateral Continuity – A layer of sediment extends laterally in all directions until it naturally pinches out or abuts the walls of its confining basin.
    [Show full text]
  • Novtautesamerican MUSEUM PUBLISHED by the AMERICAN MUSEUM of NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST at 79TH STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y
    NovtautesAMERICAN MUSEUM PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST AT 79TH STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10024 Number 2722, pp. 1-24, figs. 1-1I1 January 29, 1982 Studies on the Paleozoic Selachian Genus Ctenacanthus Agassiz: No. 2. Bythiacanthus St. John and Worthen, Amelacanthus, New Genus, Eunemacanthus St. John and Worthen, Sphenacanthus Agassiz, and Wodnika Miunster JOHN G. MAISEY1 ABSTRACT Some of the finspines originally referred to Eunemacanthus St. John and Worthen is revised Ctenacanthus are reassigned to other taxa. Sev- to include some European and North American eral characteristically tuberculate lower Carbon- species. Sphenacanthus Agassiz is shown to be iferous finspines are referred to Bythiacanthus St. a distinct taxon from Ctenacanthus Agassiz, on John and Worthen, including one of Agassiz's the basis of finspine morphology, and its wide- original species, Ctenacanthus brevis. Finspines spread occurrence in the Carboniferous of North referable to Bythiacanthus are known from west- America is demonstrated. Similarities are noted ern Europe, the U.S.S.R., and North America. between the finspines of Sphenacanthus and Amelacanthus, new genus, is described on the Wodnika, and both taxa are placed provisionally basis of finspines from the United Kingdom. Four in the family Sphenacanthidae. A new species of species are recognized, two of which were origi- Wodnika, W. borealis, is recognized on the basis nally assigned to Onchus by Agassiz, and all four of a finspine from the Permian of Alaska. of which were referred to Ctenacanthus by Davis. INTRODUCTION The present paper is the second in a series Ctenacanthus in an attempt to restrict this of reviews of the Paleozoic chondrichthyan taxon to sharks with finspines that closely Ctenacanthus.
    [Show full text]
  • CBD Sixth National Report
    Australia’s Sixth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity 2014 2018 ‒ 24 March 2020 © Commonwealth of Australia 2020 Ownership of intellectual property rights Unless otherwise noted, copyright (and any other intellectual property rights) in this publication is owned by the Commonwealth of Australia (referred to as the Commonwealth). Creative Commons licence All material in this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence except content supplied by third parties, logos and the Commonwealth Coat of Arms. Inquiries about the licence and any use of this document should be emailed to [email protected]. Cataloguing data This report should be attributed as: Australia’s Sixth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity 2014‒2018, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2020 CC BY 4.0. ISBN 978-1-76003-255-5 This publication is available at http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/international/un-convention-biological-diversity. Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment GPO Box 858 Canberra ACT 2601 Telephone 1800 900 090 Web awe.gov.au The Australian Government acting through the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment has exercised due care and skill in preparing and compiling the information and data in this publication. Notwithstanding, the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, its employees and advisers disclaim all liability, including liability for negligence and for any loss, damage, injury, expense or cost incurred by any person as a result of accessing, using or relying on any of the information or data in this publication to the maximum extent permitted by law.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Placoderm' (Arthrodira)
    Jobbins et al. Swiss J Palaeontol (2021) 140:2 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-020-00212-w Swiss Journal of Palaeontology RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access A large Middle Devonian eubrachythoracid ‘placoderm’ (Arthrodira) jaw from northern Gondwana Melina Jobbins1* , Martin Rücklin2, Thodoris Argyriou3 and Christian Klug1 Abstract For the understanding of the evolution of jawed vertebrates and jaws and teeth, ‘placoderms’ are crucial as they exhibit an impressive morphological disparity associated with the early stages of this process. The Devonian of Morocco is famous for its rich occurrences of arthrodire ‘placoderms’. While Late Devonian strata are rich in arthrodire remains, they are less common in older strata. Here, we describe a large tooth-bearing jaw element of Leptodontich- thys ziregensis gen. et sp. nov., an eubrachythoracid arthrodire from the Middle Devonian of Morocco. This species is based on a large posterior superognathal with a strong dentition. The jawbone displays features considered syna- pomorphies of Late Devonian eubrachythoracid arthrodires, with one posterior and one lateral row of conical teeth oriented postero-lingually. μCT-images reveal internal structures including pulp cavities and dentinous tissues. The posterior orientation of the teeth and the traces of a putative occlusal contact on the lingual side of the bone imply that these teeth were hardly used for feeding. Similar to Compagopiscis and Plourdosteus, functional teeth were pos- sibly present during an earlier developmental stage and have been worn entirely. The morphological features of the jaw element suggest a close relationship with plourdosteids. Its size implies that the animal was rather large. Keywords: Arthrodira, Dentition, Food web, Givetian, Maïder basin, Palaeoecology Introduction important to reconstruct character evolution in early ‘Placoderms’ are considered as a paraphyletic grade vertebrates.
    [Show full text]
  • Size Distribution of the Late Devonian Ammonoid Prolobites: Indication for Possible Mass Spawning Events
    Swiss J Geosci (2010) 103:475–494 DOI 10.1007/s00015-010-0036-y Size distribution of the Late Devonian ammonoid Prolobites: indication for possible mass spawning events Sonny Alexander Walton • Dieter Korn • Christian Klug Received: 17 December 2009 / Accepted: 18 October 2010 / Published online: 15 December 2010 Ó Swiss Geological Society 2010 Abstract Worldwide, the ammonoid genus Prolobites is Abbreviations only known from a few localities, and from these fossil SMF Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt a. M., Germany beds almost all of the specimens are adults as shown by the MB.C. Cephalopod collection of the Museum fu¨r presence of a terminal growth stage. This is in marked Naturkunde Berlin (the collections of Franz contrast to the co-occurring ammonoid genera such as Ademmer, Werner Bottke, and Harald Simon Sporadoceras, Prionoceras, and Platyclymenia. Size dis- are incorporated here) tribution of specimens of Prolobites from three studied localities show that, unlike in the co-occurring ammonoid species, most of the material belongs to adult individuals. The morphometric analysis of Prolobites delphinus Introduction (SANDBERGER &SANDBERGER 1851) demonstrates the intra- specific variability including variants with elliptical coiling The mid-Fammenian (Late Devonian) ammonoid genus and that dimorphism is not detectable. The Prolobites Prolobites is only known from a few localities worldwide, material shows close resemblance to spawning populations mainly in the Rhenish Mountains and the South Urals. of Recent coleoids such as the squid Todarodes filippovae Where it does occur, the majority of the specimens show a ADAM 1975. Possible mass spawning events are discussed terminal growth stage suggesting that these are adults.
    [Show full text]
  • Upper Devonian Depositional and Biotic Events in Western New York
    MIDDLE- UPPER DEVONIAN DEPOSITIONAL AND BIOTIC EVENTS IN WESTERN NEW YORK Gordon C. Baird, Dept. of Geosciences, SUNY-Fredonia, Fredonia, NY 14063; D. Jeffrey Over, Dept. of Geological Sciences, SUNY-Geneseo, Geneseo, NY 14454; William T. Kirch gasser, Dept. of Geology, SUNY-Potsdam, Potsdam, NY 13676; Carlton E. Brett, Dept. of Geology, Univ. of Cincinnati, 500 Geology/Physics Bldg., Cincinnati, OH 45221 INTRODUCTION The Middle and Late Devonian succession in the Buffalo area includes numerous dark gray and black shale units recording dysoxic to near anoxic marine substrate conditions near the northern margin of the subsiding Appalachian foreland basin. Contrary to common perception, this basin was often not stagnant; evidence of current activity and episodic oxygenation events are characteristic of many units. In fact, lag deposits of detrital pyrite roofed by black shale, erosional runnels, and cross stratified deposits of tractional styliolinid grainstone present a counter intuitive image of episodic, moderate to high energy events within the basin. We will discuss current-generated features observed at field stops in the context of proposed models for their genesis, and we will also examine several key Late Devonian bioevents recorded in the Upper Devonian stratigraphic succession. In particular, two stops will showcase strata associated with key Late Devonian extinction events including the Frasnian-Famennian global crisis. Key discoveries made in the preparation of this field trip publication, not recorded in earlier literature,
    [Show full text]
  • Mcabee Fossil Site Assessment
    1 McAbee Fossil Site Assessment Final Report July 30, 2007 Revised August 5, 2007 Further revised October 24, 2008 Contract CCLAL08009 by Mark V. H. Wilson, Ph.D. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Phone 780 435 6501; email [email protected] 2 Table of Contents Executive Summary ..............................................................................................................................................................3 McAbee Fossil Site Assessment ..........................................................................................................................................4 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................................4 Geological Context ...........................................................................................................................................................8 Claim Use and Impact ....................................................................................................................................................10 Quality, Abundance, and Importance of the Fossils from McAbee ............................................................................11 Sale and Private Use of Fossils from McAbee..............................................................................................................12 Educational Use of Fossils from McAbee.....................................................................................................................13
    [Show full text]
  • A Review of the Plants of the Princeton Chert (Eocene, British Columbia, Canada)
    Botany A review of the plants of the Princeton chert (Eocene, British Columbia, Canada) Journal: Botany Manuscript ID cjb-2016-0079.R1 Manuscript Type: Review Date Submitted by the Author: 07-Jun-2016 Complete List of Authors: Pigg, Kathleen; Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences DeVore, Melanie; Georgia College and State University, Department of Biological &Draft Environmental Sciences Allenby Formation, Aquatic plants, Fossil monocots, Okanagan Highlands, Keyword: Permineralized floras https://mc06.manuscriptcentral.com/botany-pubs Page 1 of 75 Botany A review of the plants of the Princeton chert (Eocene, British Columbia, Canada) Kathleen B. Pigg , School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA Melanie L. DeVore , Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences, Georgia College & State University, 135 Herty Hall, Milledgeville, GA 31061 USA Corresponding author: Kathleen B. Pigg (email: [email protected]) Draft 1 https://mc06.manuscriptcentral.com/botany-pubs Botany Page 2 of 75 A review of the plants of the Princeton chert (Eocene, British Columbia, Canada) Kathleen B. Pigg and Melanie L. DeVore Abstract The Princeton chert is one of the most completely studied permineralized floras of the Paleogene. Remains of over 30 plant taxa have been described in detail, along with a diverse assemblage of fungi that document a variety of ecological interactions with plants. As a flora of the Okanagan Highlands, the Princeton chert plants are an assemblage of higher elevation taxa of the latest early to early middle Eocene, with some components similar to those in the relatedDraft compression floras. However, like the well known floras of Clarno, Appian Way, the London Clay, and Messel, the Princeton chert provides an additional dimension of internal structure.
    [Show full text]
  • Copyrighted Material
    06_250317 part1-3.qxd 12/13/05 7:32 PM Page 15 Phylum Chordata Chordates are placed in the superphylum Deuterostomia. The possible rela- tionships of the chordates and deuterostomes to other metazoans are dis- cussed in Halanych (2004). He restricts the taxon of deuterostomes to the chordates and their proposed immediate sister group, a taxon comprising the hemichordates, echinoderms, and the wormlike Xenoturbella. The phylum Chordata has been used by most recent workers to encompass members of the subphyla Urochordata (tunicates or sea-squirts), Cephalochordata (lancelets), and Craniata (fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals). The Cephalochordata and Craniata form a mono- phyletic group (e.g., Cameron et al., 2000; Halanych, 2004). Much disagree- ment exists concerning the interrelationships and classification of the Chordata, and the inclusion of the urochordates as sister to the cephalochor- dates and craniates is not as broadly held as the sister-group relationship of cephalochordates and craniates (Halanych, 2004). Many excitingCOPYRIGHTED fossil finds in recent years MATERIAL reveal what the first fishes may have looked like, and these finds push the fossil record of fishes back into the early Cambrian, far further back than previously known. There is still much difference of opinion on the phylogenetic position of these new Cambrian species, and many new discoveries and changes in early fish systematics may be expected over the next decade. As noted by Halanych (2004), D.-G. (D.) Shu and collaborators have discovered fossil ascidians (e.g., Cheungkongella), cephalochordate-like yunnanozoans (Haikouella and Yunnanozoon), and jaw- less craniates (Myllokunmingia, and its junior synonym Haikouichthys) over the 15 06_250317 part1-3.qxd 12/13/05 7:32 PM Page 16 16 Fishes of the World last few years that push the origins of these three major taxa at least into the Lower Cambrian (approximately 530–540 million years ago).
    [Show full text]