Micropaleontology
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In Pliocene Deposits, Antarctic Continental Margin (ANDRILL 1B Drill Core) Molly F
University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln ANDRILL Research and Publications Antarctic Drilling Program 2009 Significance of the Trace Fossil Zoophycos in Pliocene Deposits, Antarctic Continental Margin (ANDRILL 1B Drill Core) Molly F. Miller Vanderbilt University, [email protected] Ellen A. Cowan Appalachian State University, [email protected] Simon H. H. Nielsen Florida State University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/andrillrespub Part of the Oceanography Commons, and the Paleobiology Commons Miller, Molly F.; Cowan, Ellen A.; and Nielsen, Simon H. H., "Significance of the Trace Fossil Zoophycos in Pliocene Deposits, Antarctic Continental Margin (ANDRILL 1B Drill Core)" (2009). ANDRILL Research and Publications. 61. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/andrillrespub/61 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Antarctic Drilling Program at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in ANDRILL Research and Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Published in Antarctic Science 21(6) (2009), & Antarctic Science Ltd (2009), pp. 609–618; doi: 10.1017/ s0954102009002041 Copyright © 2009 Cambridge University Press Submitted July 25, 2008, accepted February 9, 2009 Significance of the trace fossil Zoophycos in Pliocene deposits, Antarctic continental margin (ANDRILL 1B drill core) Molly F. Miller,1 Ellen A. Cowan,2 and Simon H.H. Nielsen3 1. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA 2. Department of Geology, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608, USA 3. Antarctic Research Facility, Florida State University, Tallahassee FL 32306-4100, USA Corresponding author — Molly F. -
Experimental Taphonomy Shows the Feasibility of Fossil Embryos
Experimental taphonomy shows the feasibility of fossil embryos Elizabeth C. Raff*, Jeffrey T. Villinski*, F. Rudolf Turner*, Philip C. J. Donoghue†, and Rudolf A. Raff*‡ *Department of Biology and Indiana Molecular Biology Institute, Indiana University, Myers Hall 150, 915 East Third Street, Bloomington, IN 47405; and †Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol BS8 1RJ, United Kingdom Communicated by James W. Valentine, University of California, Berkeley, CA, February 23, 2006 (received for review November 9, 2005) The recent discovery of apparent fossils of embryos contempora- external egg envelope within 15–36 days, but no preservation or neous with the earliest animal remains may provide vital insights mineralization of the embryos within was observed (18). into the metazoan radiation. However, although the putative fossil Anyone who works with marine embryos would consider remains are similar to modern marine animal embryos or larvae, preservation for sufficient time for mineralization via phospha- their simple geometric forms also resemble other organic and tization unlikely, given the seeming fragility of such embryos. inorganic structures. The potential for fossilization of animals at Freshly killed marine embryos in normal seawater decompose such developmental stages and the taphonomic processes that within a few hours. We carried out taphonomy experiments might affect preservation before mineralization have not been designed to uncover the impact of the mode of death and examined. Here, we report experimental taphonomy of marine postdeath environment on the preservational potential of ma- embryos and larvae similar in size and inferred cleavage mode to rine embryos and larvae. presumptive fossil embryos. -
Paleobiology & Paleontology
Geos 315W Course Syllabus Paleobiology & Lectures: MWF 9:15 AM –10:15 AM 233 Reichardt Paleontology Labs: M 2:15-5:15 PM M 6:00-9:00 PM 4 Credits 229 Reichardt Prerequisites: Geos 112 or Biol 103 or Biol 115 Engl 111 and Engl 211 or Engl 213 Professor: Sarah J. Fowell TA: Alec Rizzo E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Office: 326 Reichardt Office: 305 Reichardt Phone: 474-7810 Hours: By appointment Hours: T 11:00–12:30 W 1:00-2:30 Required Items: • i >clicker: i>clickers will be checked out to students for a $30 deposit (cash only). You will get your deposit back when you return the clicker at the end of the semester. If you lose your clicker or fail to return it, the department will retain your deposit and put it toward the purchase of a replacement. Go to the Geology Department office (308 Reichardt) check out your clicker. Scored clicking will begin on Wednesday, September 11. Recommended Textbook: • Benton & Harper, 2009. Introduction to Paleobiology and the Fossil Record. Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN: 978-1405141574. Go to amazon.com to purchase, rent, or download the Kindle Edition of this textbook. P aleontological investigations seek to describe temporal and spatial changes in Earth's flora and fauna within the context of geological processes, stratigraphy, and evolution. Consequently, the study of paleontology requires a working knowledge of more than one discipline. One of the principal goals of this course is to demonstrate the interdependence of scientific disciplines in any investigation of large- scale patterns and events in the natural world. -
Geochronological and Paleomagnetic Constraints on the Lower Cretaceous Dalazi Formation from the Yanji Basin, NE China, and Its Tectonic Implication
minerals Article Geochronological and Paleomagnetic Constraints on the Lower Cretaceous Dalazi Formation from the Yanji Basin, NE China, and its Tectonic Implication Zhongshan Shen 1,2,3, Zhiqiang Yu 4,5,* , Hanqing Ye 1,2,3, Zuohuan Qin 6 and Dangpeng Xi 6 1 State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China; [email protected] (Z.S.); [email protected] (H.Y.) 2 College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China 3 Innovation Academy for Earth Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China 4 Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origin of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China 5 CAS Centre for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, China 6 State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China; [email protected] (Z.Q.); [email protected] (D.X.) * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: The Lower Cretaceous Dalazi Formation in the Yanji Basin, eastern Jilin Province is of particular interest because it contains key fresh water fossil taxa, oil and gas resources, a potential terrestrial Albian–Cenomanian boundary, and regional unconformities. However, the lack of a Citation: Shen, Z.; Yu, Z.; Ye, H.; Qin, precise chronology for the non-marine strata has precluded a better understanding of the regional Z.; Xi, D. Geochronological and stratigraphic correlation and terrestrial processes. Here, we report magnetostratigraphic and U–Pb Paleomagnetic Constraints on the geochronologic results of a sedimentary sequence from the Xing’antun section in the Yanji Basin. -
Nanostructure of Biogenic Versus Abiogenic Calcium Carbonate Crystals
Nanostructure of biogenic versus abiogenic calcium carbonate crystals JAROSŁAW STOLARSKI and MACIEJ MAZUR Stolarski, J. and Mazur, M. 2005. Nanostructure of biogenic versus abiogenic calcium carbonate crystals. Acta Palae− ontologica Polonica 50 (4): 847–865. The mineral phase of the aragonite skeletal fibers of extant scleractinians (Favia, Goniastrea) examined with Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) consists entirely of grains ca. 50–100 nm in diameter separated from each other by spaces of a few nanometers. A similar pattern of nanograin arrangement was observed in basal calcite skeleton of extant calcareous sponges (Petrobiona) and aragonitic extant stylasterid coralla (Adelopora). Aragonite fibers of the fossil scleractinians: Neogene Paracyathus (Korytnica, Poland), Cretaceous Rennensismilia (Gosau, Austria), Trochocyathus (Black Hills, South Dakota, USA), Jurassic Isastraea (Ostromice, Poland), and unidentified Triassic tropiastraeid (Alpe di Specie, It− aly) are also nanogranular, though boundaries between individual grains occasionally are not well resolved. On the other hand, in diagenetically altered coralla (fibrous skeleton beside aragonite bears distinct calcite signals) of the Triassic cor− als from Alakir Cay, Turkey (Pachysolenia), a typical nanogranular pattern is not recognizable. Also aragonite crystals produced synthetically in sterile environment did not exhibit a nanogranular pattern. Unexpectedly, nanograins were rec− ognized in some crystals of sparry calcite regarded as abiotically precipitated. Our findings support the idea that nanogranular organization of calcium carbonate fibers is not, per se, evidence of their biogenic versus abiogenic origin or their aragonitic versus calcitic composition but rather, a feature of CaCO3 formed in an aqueous solution in the presence of organic molecules that control nanograin formation. Consistent orientation of crystalographic axes of polycrystalline skeletal fibers in extant or fossil coralla, suggests that nanograins are monocrystalline and crystallographically ordered (at least after deposition). -
Biostratigraphy
Biostratigraphy Geology 331 Paleontology The Grand Canyon of the Colorado River in Arizona Lithostratigraphic correlation between Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce Canyon national parks allows construction of a composite stratigraphic column. Lithostratigraphic correlation Grand Canyon, Zion Canyon, Bryce Canyon between Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce Canyon national parks Top of Navaho Ss. allows construction of a Top of Kaibab Ls. composite stratigraphic column. Zion Canyon National Park, Jurassic Sedimentary Rocks Jurassic Navaho Sandstone, Zion National Park, wind-blown cross-bedding. Bryce Canyon, Utah, Cretaceous sedimentary rocks Correlation • Determination of the equivalence of bodies of rock at different locations. There are two kinds of correlation: • Lithostratigraphic - matching up continuous formations. • Chronostratigraphic - matching up rocks of the same age. Usually done with fossils using biostratigraphy. Correlation • Over short distances lithostratigraphic correlation is the same as chronostratigraphic correlation. • Over medium distances they are not the same. • Over long distances only chronostratigraphic correlation can be used. Original Lateral Continuity: permits lithostratigraphic correlation – note the continuous beds Lithostratigraphic and Chronostratigraphic Relationships Sedimentary facies, and their subsequent rocks, are usually time-transgressive. http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/G331/lectures/331strat.html Sedimentary Facies Modern Barrier Island Time Lines Sedimentary Facies in the subsurface Wire line logs Time -
Taphonomy of Fossilized Resins: Determining the Biostratinomy of Amber
Viewmetadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk broughtto you by CORE providedby Revistes Catalanes amb Accés Obert ACTA GEOLOGICA HISPANICA, v. 35 (2000), nº 1-2, p. 171-182 Taphonomy of fossilized resins: determining the biostratinomy of amber G.O. POINAR, Jr.(1) and M. MASTALERZ(2) (1) Department of Entomology, Oregon State University, Corvallis,OR 97330. E-mail: [email protected] (2) Indiana Geological Survey, Indiana University, 611 North Walnut Grove, Bloomington, IN 47405-2208. E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT Comparing the maturity of fossilized resins with that of their enclosing bedrock can provide information on the maturity, relative age and biostratinomy of amber and copal. A method to determine this is presented here with examples of amber and copal from the Dominican Republic. Maturity of the bedrock was determined by vitrinite reflection and that of the fossilized resin by FTIR analys i s . Vitrinite oxidation values showed maturity states corresponding to lignite and sub-bituminous coal ranks. While the samples from some mines demonstrated that the maturities of the rock and fossilized resin were syngenetic, other samples indicated that recycling of the amber may have occurred. Darkening of the amber (from yel l o w to red) was correlated with increased oxi d a t i o n / w eathering. Th i s method can be a useful tool for understanding the biostratinomy of fossilized resins. Keywo rd s : Am b e r . Copal. Tap h o n o m y. Maturity. Relative age. Dominican Republi c . IN T RO D U C T I O N to the 30-45 million year dates obtained earlier by Cepek (Schlee, 1990). -
Combining Marine Macroecology and Palaeoecology in Understanding Biodiversity: Microfossils As a Model
Biol. Rev. (2015), pp. 000–000. 1 doi: 10.1111/brv.12223 Combining marine macroecology and palaeoecology in understanding biodiversity: microfossils as a model Moriaki Yasuhara1,2,3,∗, Derek P. Tittensor4,5, Helmut Hillebrand6 and Boris Worm4 1School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China 2Swire Institute of Marine Science, The University of Hong Kong, Cape d’Aguilar Road, Shek O, Hong Kong SAR, China 3Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China 4Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada 5United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, 219 Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, CB3 0DL, UK 6Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl-von-Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Schleusenstrasse 1, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany ABSTRACT There is growing interest in the integration of macroecology and palaeoecology towards a better understanding of past, present, and anticipated future biodiversity dynamics. However, the empirical basis for this integration has thus far been limited. Here we review prospects for a macroecology–palaeoecology integration in biodiversity analyses with a focus on marine microfossils [i.e. small (or small parts of) organisms with high fossilization potential, such as foraminifera, ostracodes, diatoms, radiolaria, coccolithophores, dinoflagellates, and ichthyoliths]. Marine microfossils represent a useful model -
Newsletter Number 80
The Palaeontology Newsletter Contents 80 Editorial 2 Association Business 3 News 16 Association Meetings 19 From our correspondents The very Dickens of a palaeontologist 23 PalaeoMath 101: Round the Bend … 32 Future meetings of other bodies 49 Meeting Report British Ecological Society Macro-SIG 57 Reporter: A fossil-fuelled future? 60 Encouraging palaeontology in schools 63 James Mckay – palaeo artist 75 Caithness fish on Edinburgh street 79 Palaeontology vol 55 parts 3 & 4 82–83 SPP 87: Tabulate Corals in Poland 84 Reminder: The deadline for copy for Issue no 81 is 3rd November 2012. On the Web: <http://www.palass.org/> ISSN: 0954-9900 Newsletter 80 2 Editorial Summer is upon us, whatever that means for you. For me in Scotland it is the long hours of daylight and the chance to get round lots of mountaintops in a day and collect fossils in better light than usual. As the short report about Ken Shaw’s fossil fish find in a paving slab in the heart of Edinburgh shows, sometimes exciting finds await us in rather unexpected places. For others, school is out – but Gordon Neighbour’s article on palaeontology and schools reminds us that we should be looking to what we can do to help encourage school pupils to engage with palaeontology. Although Liam Herringshaw’s somewhat downbeat article about the lack of retention of post-Ph.D. palaeontologists by UK universities and other institutions may have those pupils asking why they should focus on palaeontology. The analytical palaeobiologist in me would ask immediately whether other “clades” of Earth Scientists are having a similarly hard time of it. -
Biostratigraphy and Palaeobiology of Early Neoproterozoic Strata of the Kola Peninsula, Northwest Russia
Biostratigraphy and palaeobiology of Early Neoproterozoic strata of the Kola Peninsula, Northwest Russia JOAKIM SAMUELSSON Samuelsson, J.: Biostratigraphy and palaeobiology of Early Neoproterozoic strata of the Kola Peninsula, Northwest Russia. Norsk Geologisk Tidsskrift, Vol. 77, pp. 165-192. Oslo 1997. ISSN 0029-196X. Shales and siltstones from the Early Neoproterozoic K.ildinskaya, Volokovaya and Einovskaya Groups and the Skarbeevskaya Fonnation (Kildin Island, Sredni and Rybachi Peninsulas) and the Chapoma Fonnation (Tiersky Coast) on the Kola Peninsula, Northwest Russia yielded assemblages of moderately well-preserved organic-walled acid-resistant microfossils (acritarchs, and prob able cyanobacterial sheaths). The assemblages consist of cosmopolitan taxa recovered from various Early Neoproterozoic (Late and Terminal Riphean) settings in Scandinavia, Russia, Yakutia, North America and elsewhere. Among the recovered taxa, Lopho sphaeridium laufeldii Vida) 1976 comb. nov., Satka colonialica Jankauskas, Simia annulare (Timofeev) Mikhailovna, Tasmanites rifejicus Jankauskas, Valeria lophostriata Jankauskas and Vandalosphaeridium ?varangeri Vida! are regarded as the biostratigraphi cally most significant. One taxon, Trachysphaeridium laufeldi Vida) is transferred to Lophosphaeridium laufeldii (Vida!) Samuelsson comb. nov. The units examined herein are all considered to be Late Riphean in age and are correlated with other units of similar age in northem and southem Scandinavia, Svalbard, East Greenland and the southem Urals. Joakim Samuelsson, Uppsala University, Institute of Earth Sciences, Micropalaeontology, Norbyviigen 22, S-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden. Introduction Neoproterozoic strata worldwide (e.g. Vidal 1976a; Vidal During the Neoproterozoic, the Baltica palaeocontinent 1981a; Knoll 1982a, 1982b; Vidal & Siedlecka 1983; underwent major sedimentological, tectonic and palaeo Knoll 1984; Vidal 1985; Knoll et al. 1989; Jankauskas et geographical changes (Kumpulainen & Nystuen 1985; al. -
Paleontology and the History of Life
36954_u01.qxd 7/11/08 2:01 PM Page 80 Paleontology and the History of Life Michael Benton And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. Genesis 2:19 People have always been astounded by the diversity of life, although perhaps in different ways. In prescientific times farmers saw how their crops and live- stock were merely part of a much larger richness of life, and people have al- ways striven to understand the complexity and arrangement of living things. From Aristotle to Linnaeus, scientists attempted to catalog life and to under- stand where it had come from. During the eighteenth century it became clear to all savants that the earth had been populated formerly by strange and mar- velous creatures that had since become extinct. By 1820 some rough picture of the succession of floras and faunas through geological time was beginning to emerge. Charles Darwin, during the voyage of HMS Beagle in the early 1830s, became increasingly convinced that life was more diverse than he had imagined—every island he visited sported a new crop of plants and animals. He saw the lateral (geographic) and vertical (historic) links between species and realized by 1837 that species were all linked by a great tree. The tree con- cept made it clear why species that in his time were geographically close should also be genealogically close. -
Of Time and Taphonomy: Preservation in the Ediacaran
See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/273127997 Of time and taphonomy: preservation in the Ediacaran CHAPTER · JANUARY 2014 READS 36 2 AUTHORS, INCLUDING: Charlotte Kenchington University of Cambridge 5 PUBLICATIONS 2 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Available from: Charlotte Kenchington Retrieved on: 02 October 2015 ! OF TIME AND TAPHONOMY: PRESERVATION IN THE EDIACARAN CHARLOTTE G. KENCHINGTON! 1,2 AND PHILIP R. WILBY2 1Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EQ, UK <[email protected]! > 2British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK ABSTRACT.—The late Neoproterozoic witnessed a revolution in the history of life: the transition from a microbial world to the one known today. The enigmatic organisms of the Ediacaran hold the key to understanding the early evolution of metazoans and their ecology, and thus the basis of Phanerozoic life. Crucial to interpreting the information they divulge is a thorough understanding of their taphonomy: what is preserved, how it is preserved, and also what is not preserved. Fortunately, this Period is also recognized for its abundance of soft-tissue preservation, which is viewed through a wide variety of taphonomic windows. Some of these, such as pyritization and carbonaceous compression, are also present throughout the Phanerozoic, but the abundance and variety of moldic preservation of body fossils in siliciclastic settings is unique to the Ediacaran. In rare cases, one organism is preserved in several preservational styles which, in conjunction with an increased understanding of the taphonomic processes involved in each style, allow confident interpretations of aspects of the biology and ecology of the organisms preserved.