Glossifungites gingrasi n. isp., a probable subaqueous insect domicile from the Cretaceous Ferron Sandstone, Utah

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
M. Ryan King ◽  
Andrew D. La Croix ◽  
Terry A. Gates ◽  
Paul B. Anderson ◽  
Lindsay E. Zanno

Abstract A new ichnospecies, Glossifungites gingrasi n. isp., is described from multiple locations in basal sand-filled coastal plain distributary channels of the Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) Ferron Sandstone (central Utah). Glossifungites gingrasi n. isp. is attributed to the ichnogenus Glossifungites based on the presence of scratch imprints, passive fill, and a tongue-shaped structure, yet the new ichnospecies is distinct because it displays transverse bioglyphs that run perpendicular to the planiform structure, which contrasts to the axis parallel bioglyphs present in the ichnospecies G. saxicava. The transverse arrangement of ornamentation exhibited by G. gingrasi n. isp. is observed in modern subaqueous insect burrows produced by mayfly and chironomid larvae, and constitutes a way to differentiate insect-generated burrows from structures produced by crustaceans that are known to create other Glossifungites ichnospecies. Differentiating insect- from crustacean-generated burrows is significant because it provides a way to distinguish bioturbation by marine-recruited fauna from that produced by freshwater fauna in the rock record, making G. gingrasi n. isp. a valuable ichnological tool for paleoenvironmental and stratigraphic interpretation. While G. gingrasi n. isp. may represent a burrow created by a variety of filter-feeding subaqueous insects, the large size of G. gingrasi n. isp. in the Ferron Sandstone suggests that the largest specimens are probable mayfly burrows and supports the assertion that burrowing mayflies (e.g., Polymitarcyidae and Ephemeridae) adapted to domicile filter-feeding during or prior to the Turonian. UUID: http://zoobank.org/a033b22f-bf09-481a-975e-3a1b096154cc

10.1029/ft172 ◽  
1989 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Burleigh Harris ◽  
Vernon J. Hurst ◽  
Paul G. Nystrom ◽  
Lauck W. Ward ◽  
Charles W. Hoffman ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (10) ◽  
pp. 1265-1285
Author(s):  
Aaron M. Hess ◽  
Christopher R. Fielding

ABSTRACT Most sequence stratigraphic models are based on the premise that relative changes in sea level (RSL) control stacking patterns in continental-margin settings. An alternative hypothesis, however, is that upstream factors, notably variations in relative water discharge (RQW) or the ratio of water to sediment discharge can influence or control stratal stacking patterns in fluvial systems. Sequence boundaries of RQW-driven systems differ from those driven by base-level fluctuations in that: 1) the depth of incision increases updip, and 2) rates of erosion are spatially uniform, leading to the formation of widespread, planar sequence boundaries. This paper presents an architectural and stratigraphic analysis of the well-exposed Masuk Formation of the Henry Mountains Syncline in southern Utah, an Upper Cretaceous coastal-plain fluvial succession that is interpreted to have been influenced significantly by RQW. Six lithofacies are recognized, three (Facies 1–3) recording floodbasin, mire, and (in one short interval) estuarine environments, and three (Facies 4–6) record different kinds of channel fills on a coastal alluvial plain. Seven major composite channel bodies (Facies 4–6), separated by intervals of non-channel deposits (Facies 1–3), are recognized in the stratigraphic interval. Composite channel bodies display planar, sheet-like geometry and are laterally continuous to a significantly greater extent (> 10 km) than would be expected from purely autogenic channel-belt construction. Together, these intervals record a series of high-frequency sequences, formed along the western margin of the Western Interior Seaway. In each individual sequence is a repetitive facies succession from a basal chaotic sandstone with admixed mudrock and sandstone transitioning upward to a more organized cross-bedded and stratified sandstone. This is interpreted to record cyclical changes from a peaked (flashy) discharge regime to a more normal runoff regime. Paleoflow data indicate a dominance of transverse (eastward-directed) dispersal early in the accumulation of the Masuk Formation, shifting to a pattern of greater axial (northward) dispersal over time. The RQW signal is strong in the lower part of the formation, decreasing upward. This suggests that the relatively short-headed streams draining from the rising Sevier fold–thrust belt were strongly influenced by climatic cyclicity, whereas more distally sourced systems were not. This study provides new insights into the architecture and stacking patterns of coastal-plain fluvial successions, emphasizing the plausible role that climate can play in shaping alluvial architecture in the rock record.


2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (10) ◽  
pp. 1220-1237 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Eberth ◽  
Sandra L. Kamo

The non-marine Horseshoe Canyon Formation (HCFm, southern Alberta) yields taxonomically diverse, late Campanian to middle Maastrichtian dinosaur assemblages that play a central role in documenting dinosaur evolution, paleoecology, and paleobiogeography leading up to the end-Cretaceous extinction. Here, we present high-precision U–Pb CA–ID–TIMS ages and the first calibrated chronostratigraphy for the HCFm using zircon grains from (1) four HCFm bentonites distributed through 129 m of section, (2) one bentonite from the underlying Bearpaw Formation, and (3) a bentonite from the overlying Battle Formation that we dated previously. In its type area, the HCFm ranges in age from 73.1–68.0 Ma. Significant paleoenvironmental and climatic changes are recorded in the formation, including (1) a transition from a warm-and-wet deltaic setting to a cooler, seasonally wet-dry coastal plain at 71.5 Ma, (2) maximum transgression of the Drumheller Marine Tongue at 70.896 ± 0.048 Ma, and (3) transition to a warm-wet alluvial plain at 69.6 Ma. The HCFm’s three mega-herbivore dinosaur assemblage zones track these changes and are calibrated as follows: Edmontosaurus regalis – Pachyrhinosaurus canadensis zone, 73.1–71.5 Ma; Hypacrosaurus altispinus – Saurolophus osborni zone, 71.5–69.6 Ma; and Eotriceratops xerinsularis zone, 69.6–68.2 Ma. The Albertosaurus Bonebed — a monodominant assemblage of tyrannosaurids in the Tolman Member — is assessed an age of 70.1 Ma. The unusual triceratopsin, Eotriceratops xerinsularis, from the Carbon Member, is assessed an age of 68.8 Ma. This chronostratigraphy is useful for refining correlations with dinosaur-bearing upper Campanian–middle Maastrichtian units in Alberta and elsewhere in North America.


1981 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 281-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Sebastien ◽  
W. L. Lockhart

AbstractTwo formulations of methoxychlor were compared with regard to toxicity and availability to aquatic organisms. A particulate formulation was less toxic than an emulsifiable formulation to chironomid larvae, stonefly nymphs, and fish. Similarly the particulate methoxychlor was less rapidly accumulated from water by those same animals than was the emulsified methoxychlor. With black fly larvae, the only filter-feeding animal used, the two formulations were about equal in toxicity, but the particulate formulation was accumulated more readily than emulsified material. Both formulations induced larvae to detach from substrate but emulsifiable methoxychlor acted more quickly. At the time of detachment, larvae exposed to the particulate formulation contained an average of 68 times more methoxychlor than larvae exposed to the emulsion.


Sedimentology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 59 (7) ◽  
pp. 2226-2258 ◽  
Author(s):  
GARY J. HAMPSON ◽  
M. ROYHAN GANI ◽  
HIRANYA SAHOO ◽  
ANDREAS RITTERSBACHER ◽  
NAWAZISH IRFAN ◽  
...  

1994 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kasana Pitakpaivan ◽  
Joseph E. Hazel

The ostracode assemblage of the Arkadelphia Formation, upper Maastrichtian, of southwestern Arkansas is characterized by a well-preserved, relatively diverse, and abundant fauna representing 36 podocopid species and an undetermined number of species of the platycopid genus Cytherella. Thirteen of these account for 85 percent of the fauna. The dominant forms are Cytherella spp., Brachycythere rhomboidalis (Berry, 1925), Haplocytheridea renfroensis Crane, 1965, Haplocytheridea bruceclarki (Israelsky, 1929), and Brachycythere ovata (Berry, 1925), which account for about 57 percent of the specimens found. Other species that are less common, but are characteristic of the Arkadelphia, are Antibythocypris macropora (Alexander, 1929), Ascetoleberis hazardi (Israelsky, 1929), Aversovalva fossata (Skinner, 1956), Brachycythere ledaforma (Israelsky, 1929), Curfsina communis (Israelsky, 1929), Cytheromorpha arbenzi (Skinner, 1956), Escharacytheridea micropunctata (Alexander, 1929), and Veenia arachoides (Berry, 1925). The ostracode assemblage indicates that the Arkadelphia was deposited in the inner sublittoral zone.The species Veenia parallelopora (Alexander, 1929) and Brachycythere foraminosa Alexander, 1934, are restricted to the Arkadelphia Formation and allow correlation with other Gulf Coastal Plain Upper Cretaceous units. A new ostracode interval zone, the Veenia parallelopora Zone, is proposed. This zone divides the Platycosta lixula Zone.Calcareous planktic microfossils reported from the Arkadelphia and its correlatives in the Veenia parallelopora Zone indicate that these deposits are late Maastrichtian in age, not middle Maastrichtian as some authors have thought.


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