An elasmobranch assemblage from the terrestrial-marine transitional Lethbridge Coal Zone (Dinosaur Park Formation: Upper Campanian), Alberta, Canada

1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 494-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil R. Beavan ◽  
Anthony P. Russell

The change in depositional environments observed in the Cretaceous (Upper Campanian) strata in the region of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, from the proximal coastal plain deposits of the Oldman Formation to the lowland coastal plain deposits of the Dinosaur Park Formation, reveals an associated change in faunal composition. An assemblage collected from a microvertebrate site in the paralic deposits of the Lethbridge Coal Zone (uppermost Dinosaur Park Formation) reflects an increasing marine influence. Elasmobranch (sharks and rays) remains are the most abundant, both in terms of number of overall taxa and number of elements, and they are the best-preserved specimens. However, several brackish-water-tolerant osteichthyan taxa, and four reptile taxa (two marine and two terrestrial), were also recovered, although they exhibited evidence of extensive taphonomic reworking.The elasmobranch fauna collected from the Dinosaur Park locality is uncommon for vertebrate microfossil assemblages in the Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta and in equivalent beds in Montana. Seven of the 10 taxa collected from this site [Cretorectolobus olsoni Case, 1978; Eucrossorhinus microcuspidatus Case, 1978; Odontaspis aculeatus (Cappetta and Case, 1975); Archaeolamna kopingensis judithensis Siverson, 1992; Protoplatyrhina renae Case, 1978; Ischyrhiza mira Leidy, 1856; and Ptychotrygon blainensis Case, 1978] are recorded for the first time from the uppermost section of the Judith River Group in Alberta; Carcharias steineri (Case, 1987), represents the first occurrence within the upper Judith River Group from either Alberta or Montana.

2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (11) ◽  
pp. 791-800 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Evans ◽  
Rebecca Bavington ◽  
Nicolás E. Campione

The lambeosaurine hadrosaurid Parasaurolophus is known from rare occurrences in Campanian deposits of western North America. A previously undescribed large hadrosaurid braincase from the Dinosaur Park Formation (Alberta, Canada) is assigned to the genus Parasaurolophus on the basis of several derived characters associated with the frontal–nasal articulation at the base of the crest. This identification is supported by two separate phylogenetic analyses, in which the specimen clusters with other more completely known Parasaurolophus exemplars. If correctly identified, the specimen represents the third and largest cranial specimen of the genus from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta. The specimen occurs in the same deposits as the holotype specimen of Parasaurolophus walkeri and may represent a late ontogenetic stage of this taxon. As opposed to a small frontal dome in the holotype of P. walkeri , the external contribution of the frontal to the skull roof is obliterated in the new specimen. If these hypothesized ontogenetic changes in the skull roof correlate with the size and posterodorsal development of the crest, as in other lambeosaurines, it suggests that the crest had not reached its full expression in the holotype. When placed into a detailed biostratigraphic context for the first time, the limited Parasaurolophus material from the Belly River Group is distributed in the lower half of the Dinosaur Park Formation at Dinosaur Provincial Park. This suggests that Parasaurolophus may be associated with the lower Centrosaurus – Corythosaurus assemblage zone and may have preferred more inland environments than other hadrosaurids, such as Lambeosaurus and Prosaurolophus .


2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 655-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Eberth

Upper Cretaceous dinosaur bonebeds are common in Alberta, Canada, and have attracted continuous scientific attention since the 1960s. Since its inception, the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology has documented the presence of hundreds of these sites and has been involved directly in the scientific study of many tens. Because many of these bonebeds have been used to address questions about the paleobiology and paleoecology of dinosaurs, questions have arisen about bonebed origins and preservation in the Cretaceous of Alberta. This study of 260 bonebeds delineates broad paleoenvironmental settings and associations, and taphonomic signatures of assemblages as a first step in assessing patterns of dinosaur bonebed origins in the Upper Cretaceous of Alberta. Bonebeds are known predominantly from the Belly River Group and the Horseshoe Canyon, lower St. Mary River, Wapiti, and Scollard formations. In these units, bonebeds are mostly associated with river channel and alluvial wetland settings that were influenced by a subtropical to warm-temperate, monsoonal climate. Most bonebeds formed in response to flooding events capable of killing dinosaurs, reworking and modifying skeletal remains, and burying taphocoenoses. The “coastal-plain-flooding hypothesis,” proposed in 2005, suggested that many bonebeds in the Dinosaur Park Formation formed in response to the effects of recurring coastal-plain floods that submerged vast areas of ancient southern Alberta on a seasonal basis. It remains the best mechanism to explain how many of the bonebeds were formed and preserved at Dinosaur Provincial Park, and here, is proposed as the mechanism that best explains bonebed origins in other Upper Cretaceous formations across central and southern Alberta.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 245-256
Author(s):  
Cemil Aymak ◽  
Aşkın Hasan Uçar ◽  
Yusuf Katılmış ◽  
Eyup Başkale ◽  
Serap Ergene

In this study invertebrate infestation in green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nests were recorded for the first time for Kazanlı beach, Mersin, Turkey. For this aim, in 2006 nesting season, 294 natural intact green turtle nests were sampled to examine their contents and invertebrate infestation was found in 76 (25.85% of the total sampling green turtle nests). These infested nests were examined in terms of the invertebrate faunal composition. The specimens found in the green sea turtle nests were identified to order, family or genus levels and they were represented in 5 orders. These invertebrate groups are Elater sp. larvae (Elateridae; Coleoptera), Pimelia sp. larvae (Tenebrionidae; Coleoptera), Enchytraeidae (Oligochaeta), Cyrptostigmata (Acari), Oniscidae (Isopoda), Formicidae (Hymenoptera). Elater sp. was the most common invertebrate group in the green turtle nests. According to student t test, we found statistically significant differences between 7 independent variables and invertebrate species presence. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis explained that there is a negative relationship between hatching success rate and invertebrate species presence.


1984 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 698-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Taylor ◽  
Roger G. Walker

The marine Moosebar Formation (Albian) has a currently accepted southerly limit at Fall Creek (Ram River area). It consists of marine mudstones with some hummocky and swaley cross-stratified sandstones indicating a storm-dominated Moosebar (Clearwater) sea. We have traced a tongue of the Moosebar southward to the Elbow River area (150 km southeast of Fall Creek), where there is a brackish-water ostracod fauna. Paleoflow directions are essentially northwestward (vector mean 318°), roughly agreeing with turbidite sole marks (329°) in the Moosebar of northeastern British Columbia.The Moosebar sea transgressed southward over fluvial deposits of the Gladstone Formation. In the Gladstone, thick channel sands (4–8 m) are commonly multistorey (up to about 15 m), with well developed lateral accretion surfaces. The strike of the lateral accretion surfaces and the orientation of the walls of channels and scours indicate northwestward flow (various vector means in the range 307–339°). The Moosebar transgression was terminated by construction of the Beaver Mines floodplain, with thick, multistorey sand bodies up to about 35 m thick. Flow directions are variable, but various vector means roughly cluster in the north to northeast segment. This indicates a major change in dispersal direction from the Gladstone and Moosebar formations.A review of many Late Jurassic and Cretaceous units shows a dominant dispersal of sand parallel to regional strike. This flow is mostly north-northwestward (Passage beds, Cadomin, Gladstone, Moosebar, Gates, Chungo), with the southeasterly dispersal of the Cardium being the major exception. Only at times of maximum thickness of clastic input (Belly River and higher units, and possibly Kootenay but there are no published paleocurrent data) does the sediment disperse directly eastward or northeastward from the Cordillera toward the Plains.


Author(s):  
P. Tongiorgi ◽  
E. Fregni ◽  
M. Balsamo

During 1996–1997 a systematic sampling programme was carried out in brackish coastal lakes and lagoons and in the delta of the River Po. In six of the nine collecting locations, 12 species of Gastrotricha were identified. One species, Chaetonotus ichthydioides, is new to science; another three species, the chaetonotidans Heterolepidoderma foliatum and the macrodasyidans Dendrodasys ponticus and Turbanella cf. pontica, and one macrodasyidan genus, Paradasys (P. subterraneus), were found in Italy for the first time. The unusual morphology of some of the species identified shows that Gastrotricha colonized brackish waters from both marine and freshwater habitats.


2006 ◽  
Vol 43 (12) ◽  
pp. 1791-1820 ◽  
Author(s):  
D E Jackson ◽  
A C Lenz

Four graptolite biozones are recorded from the Arenig portion of the Road River Group in the Richardson and Mackenzie mountains in the Yukon and Northwest Territories. In ascending order, these zones are Tetragraptus approximatus, Pendeograptus fruticosus, Didymograptus bifidus, and Parisograptus caduceus australis (new). The Castlemainian stage may be represented by nongraptolitic massive bedded chert. The Arenig–Llanvirn boundary is drawn below the first occurrence of Undulograptus austrodentatus. Fifty-four graptolite taxa are present, and 16 of these species and subspecies are recorded for the first time in this deep-water biotope, namely, Didymograptus? cf. adamantinus, D. asperus, D. dilatans, D. cf. kurcki, D. validus communis, Holmograptus aff. leptograptoides, H. sp. A, Isograptus? sp. nov. A, I. ? dilemma, Keblograptus geminus, Pseudisograptus manubriatus harrisi, Ps. m. koi, Ps. m. janus, Ps. cf. tau, Xiphograptus lofuensis, and Zygograptus cf. abnormis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-338
Author(s):  
Aksa Ingrid Vieira Batista ◽  
Gabriel Vinicius Carvalho de Lucena ◽  
Kleber Silva de Oliveira Filho ◽  
Thiago Ferreira Lopes Nery ◽  
Thiago Fernandes Martins ◽  
...  

The Caatinga rainbow boa (Epicrates assisi Machado, 1945) is a snake belonging to the order Squamata, family Boidae, and subfamily Boinae. It has a wide distribution in Brazil and can be found in the Caatinga biome. The present study aims to report the first occurrence of Amblyomma rotundatum on E. assisi in the municipality of João Pessoa, Paraíba State (PB). On March 3, 2020, a tick collection was performed on the dorsal region of the head of an E. assisi, which was captive at the Arruda Câmara Zoobotanical Park, João Pessoa-PB. After collecting the tick, it was transferred to a flask containing 70º alcohol and sent to the Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of the Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid (UFERSA) for analysis. Identification was done with the aid of a stereomicroscope using a taxonomic key. The result identified this specimen as a nymph of A. rotundatum. The occurrence of this tick species on E. assisi is reported for the first time and constitutes new data applicable to the ectoparasites that occur in this host species in Brazil.


2003 ◽  
Vol 58 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 640-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Qu ◽  
Zhi-Hui Ding ◽  
Ji-Kai Liu

AbstractTwo compounds, (p-methoxyphenyl) diphenylmethanol (1) and tribenzylamine (2), were isolated from Humulus lupulus. Their structures were established on the basis of spectral evidence (MS, IR, NMR, HMBC, HMQC, 1H-1H COSY experiments). Compounds 1 and 2 were found as natural products at the first time.


Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2963 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
SUSANNAH C. R. MAIDMENT ◽  
PAUL M. BARRETT

A previously undescribed chasmosaurine specimen excavated in 1919-1920 by William Cutler from the Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta, Canada is referable to Chasmosaurus belli. The specimen comprises an almost complete skull in which, uniquely among Chasmosaurus, the cranial elements are disarticulated, allowing detailed examination of their morphology for the first time. The complete braincase is present and allows comparison with the braincase of other ceratopsians. The specimen also preserves an uncrushed and undistorted postcranium, including cervical, dorsal and sacral vertebrae and limb elements. The vertebral column of Chasmosaurus has never previously been described in detail, and NHMUK R4948 affords the opportunity to examine it because of the unparalleled state of vertebral preservation. A proliferation of new chasmosaurine genera has recently been described; many of them differ from each other only in details of frill and epiparietal morphology. Several of these are based on specimens previously referred to Chasmosaurus. As a result, the characters that distinguish Chasmosaurus from other Campanian chasmosaurines are unclear. However, the genus Chasmosaurus and species within the genus are diagnosable and valid based on unique combinations of characters and frill morphology. Detailed examination of the postcranial morphology of a variety of centrosaurines and chasmosaurines has highlighted previously undescribed synapomorphies for the two major ceratopsid clades, concentrated in the pectoral girdle and forelimb. Inconsistencies in the vertebral formula of specimens referred to Chasmosaurus belli suggests that the postcrania of ceratopsids may vary between species and genera far more than previously thought, and that postcranial characters should be incorporated into phylogenetic and taxonomic studies.


The Holocene ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 879-894 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trinidad Torres ◽  
Sebastián Ramallo ◽  
Yolanda Sánchez-Palencia ◽  
Milagros Ros ◽  
José E Ortiz ◽  
...  

Here, we sought to reconstruct the Pleistocene and Holocene evolution of Cartagena Bay. Therefore, 16 borehole cores were analysed with the following aims: (1) to define a chronological framework; (2) to obtain data on the palaeoenvironment; and (3) to establish the relationship with human activities, especially focused on the reconstruction of the Carthago Nova (also known as Qart Hadasht) conquest. A total of 147 samples were recovered for amino acid racemisation (AAR) dating; 32 for radiocarbon dating (14C); and 159 for sedimentological, palaeontological, and biomarker determination. These approaches allowed us to elucidate the evolutionary phases of the palaeolandscape in Cartagena. The simultaneous use of AAR and 14C dating allowed the discrimination of spurious ages and the establishment of a chronological scale. During the Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 7 and 5, the sea level (SL) in Cartagena Bay was almost the same as today. An alluvial plain developed in the northern area, and a delta was formed by an ephemeral river. In contrast, during MIS4, after a fall in SL, a wide sandy coastal plain emerged, leading to the accumulation of colluvial and aeolian deposits. The Holocene transgression was reflected in the hinterland in a late and temporarily floodable marsh fed by alluvial fans and creeks, producing a salinity gradient from freshwater to brackish and saline waters. Along the sea front, the marine influence was evident but not dominant, grading up and landwards to saline and freshwater marshes. Therefore, at the time of Scipio’s conquest, the geography of Carthago Nova was quite different from that described by Polybius. The Roman’s sudden attack seized Qart Hadasht from the south-west, avoiding the marshy area and not crossing a fast and deep ebb stream as it never existed on the Mediterranean Iberian coast.


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