Actinocamax cobbani n. sp. from the Coniacian of Montana and Wyoming and the occurrence of Late Cretaceous belemnites in North America and Greenland

1993 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Kegel Christensen

Actinocamax cobbani, a new belemnitellid species from the middle Coniacian of Montana and Wyoming, is described, including univariate and bivariate biometric analyses. The species is stout and medium sized, lanceolate or strongly lanceolate in ventral view, and has adorally a low cone-shaped alveolar fracture. It may be granulated. It is compared to species of Actinocamax Miller and Gonioteuthis Bayle from the North American and North European paleobiogeographic provinces. The importance of various morphological characters, such as the shape of the guard and the structure of the adoral end, are discussed. The majority of the belemnitellids of the North American Province are endemic and the stratigraphic distribution is punctuated during the Late Cretaceous, suggesting short-lived migrations of populations from the North European Province.

1988 ◽  
Vol 120 (S144) ◽  
pp. 39-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald R. Noonan

AbstractThe supercontinent of Pangaea, which once included most lands, fragmented during the Mesozoic. By the Late Cretaceous there were two northern land masses that were strikingly different from those of present day: Asiamerica consisting of present western North America and Asia; and Euramerica comprising Europe and eastern North America. Mild climates facilitated the spread of terrestrial organisms within each of these land masses, but epicontinental seas hindered movements between Europe and Asia and between eastern and western North America.The insects of Euramerica presumably once formed a fauna extending from eastern North America to Europe that differed from the fauna of Asiamerica. The opening of the North Atlantic separated insects in Europe from those in eastern North America. This produced vicarious patterns, with some insects of eastern North America now being more closely related phylogenetically to those of Europe than to those of western North America. Most groups of insects have not been examined for such trans-Atlantic vicariances, but studies reviewed in this paper suggest such relationships for some groups of Collembola, Hemiptera, Homoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, and Hymenoptera.The last suitable land connections between Europe and eastern North America were severed approximately 20–35 million years ago. The insects separated by this severance evolved at different rates. Some groups split in this way have apparently undergone little evolution and have the same species on both sides of the North Atlantic, but other vicarious groups have differentiated into taxa that are now distinct at specific and supra-specific levels.The opening of the North Atlantic probably split both tropical- and temperate-adapted insects in Euramerica. However, without fossil data it is difficult to identify the biogeographical patterns resulting from such splitting of the tropical-adapted groups. Most presently recognized European and eastern North American vicarious patterns of insects were probably caused by division of Euramerica rather than dispersal across Beringia.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Matthews ◽  
◽  
Marie-Pier Boivin ◽  
Kirsten Sauer ◽  
Daniel S. Coutts

Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1278
Author(s):  
Michael Glenn O’Connor ◽  
Amjad Horani ◽  
Adam J. Shapiro

Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare, under-recognized disease that affects respiratory ciliary function, resulting in chronic oto-sino-pulmonary disease. The PCD clinical phenotype overlaps with other common respiratory conditions and no single diagnostic test detects all forms of PCD. In 2018, PCD experts collaborated with the American Thoracic Society (ATS) to create a clinical diagnostic guideline for patients across North America, specifically considering the local resources and limitations for PCD diagnosis in the United States and Canada. Nasal nitric oxide (nNO) testing is recommended for first-line testing in patients ≥5 years old with a compatible clinical phenotype; however, all low nNO values require confirmation with genetic testing or ciliary electron micrograph (EM) analysis. Furthermore, these guidelines recognize that not all North American patients have access to nNO testing and isolated genetic testing is appropriate in cases with strong clinical PCD phenotypes. For unresolved diagnostic cases, referral to a PCD Foundation accredited center is recommended. The purpose of this narrative review is to provide insight on the North American PCD diagnostic process, to enhance the understanding of and adherence to current guidelines, and to promote collaboration with diagnostic pathways used outside of North America.


1957 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen L. Wood

While investigating the biology of the North American species of Hypomolyx, field workers in Manitoba found a vestigial, or short-winged, and a long-winged form under apparently identical conditions in about equal numbers. Although biological differences were nor then apparent, there was doubt as to whether they were dealing with one dimorphic species or with two distinct species, A search for morphological characters brought to light numerous differences between the two forms, supporting the view that two species were present. These differences, a description the previously unrecognized species, and notes concerning the status of the genera Hylobius and Hypomolyx are reported below.


2013 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Cifelli ◽  
Cynthia L. Gordon ◽  
Thomas R. Lipka

Multituberculates, though among the most commonly encountered mammalian fossils of the Mesozoic, are poorly known from the North American Early Cretaceous, with only one taxon named to date. Herein we describe Argillomys marylandensis, gen. et sp. nov., from the Early Cretaceous of Maryland, based on an isolated M2. Argillomys represents the second mammal known from the Arundel Clay facies of the Patuxent Formation (Lower Cretaceous: Aptian). Though distinctive in its combination of characters (e.g., enamel ornamentation consisting of ribs and grooves only, cusp formula 2:4, presence of distinct cusp on anterobuccal ridge, enlargement of second cusp on buccal row, central position of ultimate cusp in lingual row, great relative length), the broader affinities of Argillomys cannot be established because of non-representation of the antemolar dentition. Based on lack of apomorphies commonly seen among Cimolodonta (e.g., three or more cusps present in buccal row, fusion of cusps in lingual row, cusps strongly pyramidal and separated by narrow grooves), we provisionally regard Argillomys as a multituberculate of “plagiaulacidan” grade. Intriguingly, it is comparable in certain respects to some unnamed Paulchoffatiidae, a family otherwise known from the Late Jurassic – Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cemil Arkula ◽  
Nalan Lom ◽  
John Wakabayashi ◽  
Grant Rea-Downing ◽  
Mark Dekkers ◽  
...  

<p>The western edge of the North America plate contains geological records that formed during the long-lived convergence between plates of the Panthalassa Ocean and North America. The geology of different segments along western North America indicates different polarities (eastward and westward) for subducted slabs and thereby various tectonic histories and settings. The western United States (together with Mexico) plays a key role in this debate, many geologic interpretations assume continuous eastward subduction in contrast to observations within proximal geologic segments and tomographic images of the lower mantle below North America and the eastern Pacific Ocean which suggest a more complex subduction history. In this study, we aim to evaluate the plate tectonic setting in which the Jurassic ophiolites of California formed. Geochemical data from these ophiolites suggest that they formed above a nascent intra-oceanic or continental margin subduction zone. We first developed a kinematic reconstruction of the western US geology back to the Jurassic based on published structural geological data. Importantly, we update the reconstruction of the various branches of the San Andreas fault system to determine the relative position of the ophiolite fragments and adopt a previous restoration of Basin and Range extension which we expand northward towards Washington state. We then reconstruct North American margin deformation associated with Cretaceous to Paleogene shortening and strike-slip faulting. We find no clear candidates in the geological record that may have accommodated major subduction between the Jurassic ophiolite belt and the North American margin and consequently concur with the school of thought that considers that the ophiolite belt, as well as the underlying subduction-accretionary Franciscan Complex, likely formed in the North American fore-arc. We collected paleomagnetic data to reconstruct the spreading direction of the Jurassic Californian ophiolites, by providing new paleomagnetic data from sheeted dykes of the Josephine and Mt. Diablo Ophiolites. These suggest a NE-SW paleo-ridge orientation, oblique to the North American margin which may be explained by partitioning of a dextral component of subduction obliquity relative to North America. We used this spreading direction in combination with published ages of the ophiolites and our restoration of the relative position of these ophiolites prior to post-Jurassic deformation to construct a ridge-transform system at which the Jurassic ophiolites accreted. The results will be used to evaluate which parts of the subduction systems that existed in the eastern Panthalassa Ocean may reside in the western US, and which parts may be better sought in the northern Canadian Segment or/and in the southern Caribbean region.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (19) ◽  
pp. 6271-6284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaofan Li ◽  
Zeng-Zhen Hu ◽  
Ping Liang ◽  
Jieshun Zhu

Abstract In this work, the roles of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the variability and predictability of the Pacific–North American (PNA) pattern and precipitation in North America in winter are examined. It is noted that statistically about 29% of the variance of PNA is linearly linked to ENSO, while the remaining 71% of the variance of PNA might be explained by other processes, including atmospheric internal dynamics and sea surface temperature variations in the North Pacific. The ENSO impact is mainly meridional from the tropics to the mid–high latitudes, while a major fraction of the non-ENSO variability associated with PNA is confined in the zonal direction from the North Pacific to the North American continent. Such interferential connection on PNA as well as on North American climate variability may reflect a competition between local internal dynamical processes (unpredictable fraction) and remote forcing (predictable fraction). Model responses to observed sea surface temperature and model forecasts confirm that the remote forcing is mainly associated with ENSO and it is the major source of predictability of PNA and winter precipitation in North America.


mSphere ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan S. Kaplan ◽  
Marion Russier ◽  
Trushar Jeevan ◽  
Bindumadhav Marathe ◽  
Elena A. Govorkova ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Highly pathogenic H5 influenza viruses have been introduced into North America from Asia, causing extensive morbidity and mortality in domestic poultry. The introduced viruses have reassorted with North American avian influenza viruses, generating viral genotypes not seen on other continents. The experiments and analyses presented here were designed to assess the impact of this genetic diversification on viral phenotypes, particularly as regards mammalian hosts, by comparing the North American viruses with their Eurasian precursor viruses. Highly pathogenic influenza A(H5N8) viruses from clade 2.3.4.4 were introduced to North America by migratory birds in the fall of 2014. Reassortment of A(H5N8) viruses with avian viruses of North American lineage resulted in the generation of novel A(H5N2) viruses with novel genotypes. Through sequencing of recent avian influenza viruses, we identified PB1 and NP gene segments very similar to those in the viruses isolated from North American waterfowl prior to the introduction of A(H5N8) to North America, highlighting these bird species in the origin of reassortant A(H5N2) viruses. While they were highly virulent and transmissible in poultry, we found A(H5N2) viruses to be low pathogenic in mice and ferrets, and replication was limited in both hosts compared with those of recent highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 viruses. Molecular characterization of the hemagglutinin protein from A(H5N2) viruses showed that the receptor binding preference, cleavage, and pH of activation were highly adapted for replication in avian species and similar to those of other 2.3.4.4 viruses. In addition, North American and Eurasian clade 2.3.4.4 H5NX viruses replicated to significantly lower titers in differentiated normal human bronchial epithelial cells than did seasonal human A(H1N1) and highly pathogenic A(H5N1) viruses isolated from a human case. Thus, despite their having a high impact on poultry, our findings suggest that the recently emerging North American A(H5N2) viruses are not expected to pose a substantial threat to humans and other mammals without further reassortment and/or adaptation and that reassortment with North American viruses has not had a major impact on viral phenotype. IMPORTANCE Highly pathogenic H5 influenza viruses have been introduced into North America from Asia, causing extensive morbidity and mortality in domestic poultry. The introduced viruses have reassorted with North American avian influenza viruses, generating viral genotypes not seen on other continents. The experiments and analyses presented here were designed to assess the impact of this genetic diversification on viral phenotypes, particularly as regards mammalian hosts, by comparing the North American viruses with their Eurasian precursor viruses.


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