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Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. 35 mm slides or 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Accessing theUMI World’s Information since 1938 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA Order Number 8820S06 Taxonomy and biostratigraphic significance of Wenlockian and Ludlovian (Silurian) conodonts in the midcontinent outcrop area, North America Kleffner, Mark Alan, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, 1988 UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 PLEASE NOTE: In all cases this material has been filmed in the best possible way from the available copy. Problems encountered with this document have been identified here with a check mark V 1. Glossy photographs or pages \/ 2. Colored illustrations, paper or print______ 3. Photographs with dark background ____ 4. 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Other ____________________________________________________________________ UMI TAXONOMY AND BIOSTRATIGRAPHIC SIGNIFICANCE OF WENLOCKIAN AND LUDLOVIAN (SILURIAN) CONODONTS IN THE MIDCONTINENT OUTCROP AREA, NORTH AMERICA DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Mark Alan Kleffner, B.S., M.S. * * # * * The Ohio State University 1988 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Dr. Walter C. Sweet Dr. Stig M. Bergstr’om Dr. Peter-Noel Webb Adviser Dr. William I. Ausich Department of Geology and Mineralogy ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My thanks to Dr. Walter C. Sweet for his help and guidance during all the years that I have been an undergraduate and graduate student in the Department of Geology and Mineralogy at The Ohio State University. His advice, suggestions, and encouragement were an important contribution throughout all phases of this project, from development to completion. I would also like to thank Drs. Stig M. Bergstrom, William I. Ausich, Peter-N. Webb, and James W. Collinson for their help and advice. Dr. Richard S. Bowman- generously shared his knowledge of southern Ohio Silurian strata with me, showed me several pertinent localities, and granted me permission to sample from and study strata in the Plum Run Quarry of Davon Inc.. Albert Sowards, Keith Fife, Harry Wolfe, and Mavis Hooper helped me collect samples in Ohio. Dr. Carlton Brett, several of his students, and Dr. David Kennedy helped me collect samples in New York. American Aggregates Corporation, Ohio State Department of Natural Resources, Mr. Carroll Wysong, John W. Karch Company, and owners of the Niagara Stone Quarry granted me permission to collect samples at several localities. Mike Limekiller and Yoo Bong ii Kim helped process samples. Mr. Anthony Leonardi helped with the scanning electron microscope photomicrographs. Dr. Alan Horowitz, Curator' of Paleontology for the Department of Geology at Indiana University, and Dr. Carl Rexroad of the Indiana Geological Survey loaned me Silurian conodont collections. Dr. Rexroad also shared his knowledge of Silurian conodonts with me on numerous occasions. Several colleagues shared their unpublished or in-press conodont distribution data with me: Dr. Anita Harris, Mr. Kirk Denkler, Dr. James Barrick, and Dr. Hans Schonlaub. I would like to thank students and staff of the Ohio State University for their contributions to this project. Drs. Jeff Bauer and Britt Leatham, in particular, were always available for help or for an interesting discussion. Finally,-I would like to express ray love and gratitude for my parents, Dr. Paul Kleffner and Mrs. Barbara Kleffner, and for my wife, Carol, for their patience and support throughout my endeavors. The study was supported by National Science Foundation Grant EAR-8307021. iii VITA October 16, 1957 .............. Born - Columbus, Ohio 1979 ......................... B.S., The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1979-1981 ................... Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Geology and Mineralogy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1982 ......................... M.S., The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1983 ......................... Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Geology and Mineralogy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1984 . ................... J. Ernest Carman Fellow, Department of Geology and Mineralogy, The Ohio State University, ^Columbus, Ohio 1984 ......................... Instructor, Department of Geology and Mineralogy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1984 ...................... Consultant, Amoco Oil Co. 1986 ............ ... Consultant, Amoco Oil Co. 1984-1987..................... Graduate Research Associate, Department of Geology and Mineralogy, The Ohio State University 1988 ......................... Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Geology and Mineralogy, The Ohio State University iv PUBLICATIONS RYTEL, J., H. C. NOLTIMIER, and M. A. KLEFFNER. 1982. Lower and Middle Paleozoic Geology of southern Ohio, Guidebook for Field Trip, Seventh Annual Midaraerica Student Conference in Earth Science, The Ohio State University. KLEFFNER, M. A. 1984. Conodonts of the Silurian Estill Shale and Bisher Formation in southern Ohio and their bearing on the Estill-Bisher contact and depositional environment, (abs.) GSA Abstracts with Programs 16(3)• 150. REXROAD, C. B. and M. A. KLEFFNER. 1984. The Silurian stratigraphy of east-central Kentucky and adjacent Ohio, iji Rast, N. and Hay, H. B., (eds.) Field Guides for GSA Annual Meeting, Southeastern and North-Central Sections, Dept. Geol. Univ. Kentucky and Kentucky Geol. Survey, Lexington, p. 44-64. KLEFFNER, M. A. 1985. Conodont biostratigraphy of the "Packer Shell” (Silurian, Ohio subsurface), (abs.) GSA Abstracts with Programs 17(2): 98. KLEFFNER, M. A. 1985. The Lilley Formation (Silurian, Ohio): conodont biostratigraphy and correlation with Silurian formations of the Great Lakes Region, (abs.) GSA'Abstracts with Programs 17(5): 296. KLEFFNER, M. A. 1985. A conodont-based Silurian chronostratigraphy, (abs.) GSA Abstracts with Programs 17(7): 629. KLEFFNER, M. A. 1985. Conodont biostratigraphy of the Stray "Clinton” and "Packer Shell" (Silurian, Ohio subsurface) and its bearing on correlation, iji Gray, J., Maslowski, A., McCullough, W., and Shafer, W. E., (eds.) The New Clinton Collection-1985, Columbus, Ohio, Ohio Geological Society, p. 219-229. KLEFFNER, M. A. 1986. Restudy of conodonts from Silurian strata of the Niagara Gorge, (abs.) GSA Abstracts with Programs 18(3): 250. KLEFFNER, M. A. 1986. Silurian (Llandovery-Ludlow) conodont biostratigraphy of west-central Ohio and its bearing on correlation, (abs.) GSA Abstracts with Programs 18(4): 313. v KLEFFNER, M. A. 1987. Conodonts of the Estill Shale and Bisher Formation (Silurian, southern Ohio): biostratigraphy and distribution, The Ohio Journal of Science 87(3)J 78-89. KLEFFNER, M. A., W. B. LEATHAM, and W. C. SWEET. 1987. Ordovician ancestors for Silurian conodonts, (abs.) GSA Abstracts with Programs 19(3)s 171. KLEFFNER, M. A. 1987* A Silurian chronostratigraphic scale based on conodont and graptolite ranges, (abs.) GSA Abstracts with Programs 19(7)s 728-729. KLEFFNER, M. A. 1988. Lilley Formation, Lilley-Peebles transition unit, and Peebles Dolomite (Silurian, southern Ohio): conodont biostratigraphy and chronostratigraphy and depositional history, (abs.) GSA Abstracts with Programs 20(5): 351. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Geology Studies in Paleontology. Dr. Walter C. Sweet, Dr. Stig M. Bergstrom. Studies in Stratigraphy. Dr. Walter C. Sweet, Dr. Stig M. Bergstr'om. Studies in Paleoecology. Dr. William I. Ausich. Studies in Sedimentary Petrology. Dr. James W. Collinson. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS................................... ii VITA ...................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES.............................................ix LIST OF FIGURES .....................................