Idiognathodus and Streptognathodus species from the Lost Branch to Dewey sequences (Middle‐Upper Pennsylvanian) of the Midcontinent Basin, North America by Steven J. Rosscoe B.A., M.S. A Dissertation In GEOSCIENCES Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved Dr. James E. Barrick Dr. Peter Holterhoff Dr. Tom Lehman Dr. Sankar Chatterjee Dr. George Asquith Fred Hartmeister Dean of the Graduate School August, 2008 Copyright 2008, Steven Rosscoe Texas Tech University, Steven J. Rosscoe, August 2008 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the many people in my life, both personal and professional, for their support and help in completing this dissertation. Special thanks to Jim Barrick, as my dissertation committee chair and mentor, who has pushed me to become the paleontologist I am today. Thanks also to Peter Holterhoff, my guide to all things stratigraphic and the discoverer of localities. Thanks also to Tom Lehman, Sankar Chatterjee, and George Asquith for serving as committee members, providing valuable comments and critiques of my work, and for teaching me so much geology. Thanks to Mark Grimson and University Imaging Center for access and use of the Hitachi S570 SEM. I would like to extend thanks to the Department of Geosciences at Texas Tech University for supporting my work and providing me with opportunities to teach labs and lectures. I can’t forget the rest of the faculty of the department, or Barbara Graham and Allison Winton for keeping me on track. Thanks also to Provost Marcy and The IDEAL Program for financial support in the summer months and the opportunity to participate in a great outreach program. Special thanks to Phil Heckel, for sharing his valuable field knowledge and his assistance in reviewing papers. I would also like to thank Jeff Over, for sparking my interest in conodonts and helping me to choose the right path in my academic life. Thanks to Jacob Bilbo, for travelling the vast stretches of Oklahoma and Kansas with me and his valuable assistance in the field. Thanks should also be given to the office‐mates. These poor souls (Jim Lehane, Jeremy Bader, and Joseph Schubert) have listened to me rant, thinking out loud and suffered my musical tastes without complaint. Thanks to the graduate students who have shared both their academic aid and personal friendship throughout my time at Texas Tech. The following list is almost certainly incomplete: Lori Manship, Karen Waggoner, Holly Woodward, Jeremy Bader, Rissa Westerfield, Jeremiah Kokes, ReBecca Hunt, Jim Lehane, and anyone else I forgot. On a personal level, I would like to thank the following people. Michelle Sperbeck for coming with me on this Texas adventure and helping me reach this goal (and now for moving with me in the future). My family back in New York for their support even when I’ve been so lost in my research that I forget to call or even write. Without the support of family and friends, none of this would have been possible. ii Texas Tech University, Steven J. Rosscoe, August 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT v LIST OF FIGURES vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 History of Middle‐Upper Pennsylvanian Conodont Taxonomy 2 Geologic Setting 4 Cyclic Deposition in the Middle and Late Pennsylvanian 4 Middle and Late Pennsylvanian Sequence Stratigraphy 5 The Lost Branch Sequence 6 The Hepler Sequence 7 The Shale Hill Sequence 8 The Hertha Sequence 9 The Swope Sequence 10 The Mound Valley Sequence 11 The Dennis Sequence 12 The Hogshooter Sequence 13 The Cherryvale Sequence 14 The Dewey Sequence 16 CHAPTER TWO: MATERIALS AND METHODS 23 Sample Collection, Preparation, and Presentation 23 Function‐Based Taxonomy 23 Function of P1 Elements in Idiognathodus 24 Selection of Significant Characters in Idiognathodus 25 Application to the Genus Streptognathodus 32 CHAPTER THREE: THE DIVERSIFICATION OF IDIOGNATHODUS AND THE RISE OF STREPTOGNATHODUS IN THE MIDCONTINENT BASIN, UNITED STATES 36 The Late Desmoinesian Extinction 36 The Swadei Lineage 37 The Turbatus Lineage 38 The Idiognathodus biliratus Problem 40 The Sulciferus Lineage 40 Origin of Streptognathodus 43 Model of Evolution in Idiognathodus and Streptognathodus 44 CHAPTER FOUR: IMPLICATIONS OF THE NEW TAXONOMY 53 A Revised Late Desmoinesian to Middle Missourian Conodont Zonation 53 Other Global Conodont Faunas 55 Moscow Basin 55 Donets Basin 56 China 57 Spain 58 iii Texas Tech University, Steven J. Rosscoe, August 2008 Potential for Global Correlation 58 Selection of Global Events 58 Boundary Definition 60 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS 68 REFERENCES 70 APPENDICES 77 Appendix A: Locality Register 77 Appendix B: Systematic Paleontology 107 Appendix C: Hydrogen Peroxide Method for the Breakdown of Black Shales 188 iv Texas Tech University, Steven J. Rosscoe, August 2008 ABSTRACT A function‐based taxonomic method was developed to revise Idiognathodus and Streptognathodus species from the Lost Branch Sequence (latest Desmoinesian) to the Dewey Sequence (Middle Missourian). The new method relies on characters significant to the food‐ processing function of the P1 element. The chief controls over food processing efficiency are surface area and surface roughness. The two primary morphological features affecting surface area are the shape and size of the rostral lobe and the shape and size of the caudal lobe. Ornamentation of the ventral and dorsal platform affects surface roughness. Use of these three features as the major characters to discriminate species resulted in the description of twenty‐ four species of Idiognathodus and five species of Streptognathodus. A regional zonation for the Midcontinent Basin (North America; Barrick et al. 2004) was revised based on the new taxonomic scheme for Swadelina, Idiognathodus and Streptognathodus. Five zones and five subzones were erected within the study interval. The Swadelina nodocarinata zone of Barrick et al. (2004) includes the Lost Branch Sequence. The new Idiognathodus sulciferus zone includes the Hepler Sequence. The I. eccentricus zone comprises the Shale Hill and Hertha sequences. The revised I. cancellosus zone (two subzones) includes the Swope, Mound Valley, and Dennis sequences. The S. gracilis zone (three subzones) comprises the Hogshooter, Cherryvale, and Dewey sequences. The merit of three proposals for levels characteristic of the boundary between the global Moscovian and Kasimovian Stages are discussed. The first level is the traditional base of the Missourian (near the traditional base of the Kasimovian) based on the disappearance of the last species of Swadelina. The second level is based on the first appearance of I. sagittalis (not found in the Midcontinent Basin), which can be approximated using the appearance of distinctive forms of I. swadei, I. turbatus, or I. eccentricus (near the redefined base of the Missourian). The third level is at the highstand in the Swope Sequence and marks the first co‐occurrence of I. cancellosus and I. biliratus, two of the few species that may have had global distribution. v Texas Tech University, Steven J. Rosscoe, August 2008 LIST OF FIGURES 1. Paleogeography of the Laurasian portion of Pangaea during Middle and Late Pennsylvanian time at sea level highstand. 18 2. Regional geography of the Midcontinent Basin, North America. 19 3. Model of the typical Kansas‐type cyclothem for the Lost Branch Cyclothem (High Frequency Sequence). 20 4. Diagrammatic model of the Lower Missourian Composite Sequence. 21 5. Diagrammatic model of the Middle Missourian Composite Sequence. 22 6. Terminology used in the methodology and systematic paleontology section of this paper. 34 7. Diagrams representing each of the major variations observed in the conodont genera Idiognathodus and Streptognathodus in the study interval. 35 8. The lineage of Idiognathodus swadei. 47 9. The lineage of Idiognathodus turbatus. 48 10. The lineage of Idiognathodus sulciferus. 49 11. The potential origin of Streptognathodus from Idiognathodus cherryvalensis. 50 12. Composite range chart of conodonts within the uppermost Marmaton Composite Sequence, the Lower Missourian Composite Sequence, and the Middle Missourian Composite Sequence. 51 13. Variations in number of species of Idiognathodus and Streptognathodus from the Lost Branch Sequence to the Dewey Sequence. 52 14. Comparison of conodont zonations globally and regionally with the zones proposed in this dissertation. 65 15. Global and local controls on sea level and their effect on conodont‐based Correlations between North America (Midcontinent Basin) and Eurasia (Moscow Basin). 66 16. Conodont zonation for the Midcontinent Basin and proposals for the location of the Moscovian‐Kasimovian (Middle‐Upper Pennsylvanian) Boundary. 67 17. Key to measured sections (Appendix A) and diagrammatic cross sections (Figures 4 and 5). 83 vi Texas Tech University, Steven J. Rosscoe, August 2008 18. Measured section for Little River. 84 19. Measured section for the Roadditch South of Sasakwa. 85 20. Measured section for Uniontown K‐3. 86 21. Measured section for Tackett Mound I. 88 22. Measured section for Fort Calhoun Quarry. 89 23. Measured section for Jingo – Kansas 69. 91 24. Measured section for Mason Road. 93 25. Measured section for Clear Creek. 94 26. Measured section for Coffeyville Southwest. 95 27. Measured section for K‐39 at Big Creek. 96 28. Measured section for Ramona Railroad Crossing. 97 29. Measured section for Hogshooter South (Dennis Sequence) and New Harmony (Cherryvale Sequence) south of Hogshooter, Oklahoma. 98 30. Measured section for section East of Ochelata in stream along Northbound US 75 near Ochelata, Oklahoma. 99 31. Measured section for the Zink Ranch, near Sperry, Oklahoma. 100 32. Measured section for Hogshooter Quarry, operated by Belco. 101 33. Measured section for Bannister Road. 102 34. Measured section for the reference section for the Drum Limestone. 103 35. Measured section for Skiatook Dam west of Skiatook, Oklahoma. 104 36. Measured section for KAW Drive. 105 37. Selected photos from field work localities. 106 38. Idiognathodus expansus Stauffer and Plummer, 1932. 157 39. Idiognathodus swadei Rosscoe and Barrick, In Press.