Quantitative diagenetic analyses of Edmontosaurus regalis (Dinosauria: Hadrosauridae) postcranial elements from the Danek Bonebed, Upper Cretaceous Horseshoe Canyon Formation, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: implications for allometric studies of fossil organisms

2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (11) ◽  
pp. 1007-1016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mackenzie Baert ◽  
Michael E. Burns ◽  
Philip J. Currie
Keyword(s):  
Cross Section ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Major Axis ◽  
Minor Axis ◽  
Morphological Features ◽  
Fossil Assemblages ◽  
Fossil Vertebrate ◽  
Horseshoe Canyon Formation ◽  
Upper Campanian

For fossil assemblages, quantitative size and shape studies are often complicated by diagenetic distortion. Different vertebrate elements, although subjected to similar burial stresses, exhibit deformations based upon their original shapes; this hypothesis is tested here by quantitatively comparing deformed humeri and femora from the Danek Bonebed (a monodominant Edmontosaurus regalis bonebed from the upper Campanian Horseshoe Canyon Formation in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) with samples of undeformed humeri and femora from modern and fossil assemblages. Analyses suggest that at the Danek Bonebed a strong relationship exists between element length and circumference despite being distorted by crushing deformation. Major and minor axes of the midshaft cross section, however, were not uniformly distorted. Although their anatomical position did not change, the major axis became longer relative to the minor axis in distorted specimens. A regression based on the undeformed humeri was not able to accurately predict circumference in the Danek humeri. Further study might quantify the deformation of other bones in the Danek Bonebed and could be extended to other assemblages and genera. Caution should be taken when conducting studies in which diagenetic crushing may have altered morphological features of fossil vertebrate remains.

Histologic growth dynamic study of Edmontosaurus regalis (Dinosauria: Hadrosauridae) from a bonebed assemblage of the Upper Cretaceous Horseshoe Canyon Formation, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (11) ◽  
pp. 1023-1033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan Vanderven ◽  
Michael E. Burns ◽  
Philip J. Currie
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Growth Dynamics ◽  
Growth Dynamic ◽  
History Data ◽  
Life History Data ◽  
Fundamental Systems ◽  
Horseshoe Canyon Formation ◽  
Upper Campanian

The Danek Bonebed (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) is a monodominant Edmontosaurus regalis assemblage of the upper Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) Horseshoe Canyon Formation. Bone histology of humeri and femora are used in this paper to test hypotheses about the growth dynamics and palaeobiology of Edmontosaurus. The high number of elements collected from the Danek Bonebed allow for an expansion of the multi-element histological record for hadrosaurs. Results indicate that Edmontosaurus had a growth trajectory similar to other large-bodied dinosaurs and reached the onset of somatic maturity at about 10–15 years of age; however, even the largest elements to preserve lines of arrested growth do not have external fundamental systems. This timing of the onset of somatic maturity agrees with the estimated body size of Edmontosaurus relative to other dinosaurs for which life-history data are available. Vascularity patterns support the hypothesis that edmontosaurs preserved at the Danek Bonebed were not subject to the same extreme seasonal environmental shifts as congenerics preserved at higher latitudes, further supporting overwintering behaviour in the latter.

High-precision U–Pb CA–ID–TIMS dating and chronostratigraphy of the dinosaur-rich Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Campanian–Maastrichtian), Red Deer River valley, Alberta, Canada

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (10) ◽  
pp. 1220-1237 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Eberth ◽  
Sandra L. Kamo
Keyword(s):  
High Precision ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Alluvial Plain ◽  
Type Area ◽  
Southern Alberta ◽  
Dinosaur Evolution ◽  
Horseshoe Canyon Formation ◽  
Upper Campanian

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.

Enhancing bonebed mapping with GIS technology using the Danek Bonebed (Upper Cretaceous Horseshoe Canyon Formation, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) as a case study

2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (11) ◽  
pp. 987-991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Bramble ◽  
Michael E. Burns ◽  
Philip J. Currie
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Gis Technology ◽  
Digital Map ◽  
Anatomical Information ◽  
The City ◽  
Horseshoe Canyon Formation ◽  
Specimen Identification ◽  
Upper Campanian

The Danek Bonebed is a monodominant Edmontosaurus bonebed preserving predominantly disarticulated material from the Upper Campanian Horseshoe Canyon Formation within the city limits of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. To date, at least six dinosaur taxa have been identified at the site: Albertosaurus sarcophagus, Chasmosaurinae indet., Dromaeosauridae indet., Edmontosaurus regalis, Ornithomimidae indet., and Troodontidae indet. This bonebed has been used as a case study for creating a digital, searchable bonebed map using a geographic information system (GIS) platform. The original quarry maps produced on site are refined when digitized with new anatomical information gathered during preparation of collected specimens. Each specimen is labeled with the known specimen identification, quarry coordinates, and catalogue number. Creating a digital map of the bonebed allows easier interpretation of data and the ability to share maps to compare specific elements within the bonebed.

On the stability of flow in an elliptic pipe which is nearly circular

1978 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Davey
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Linear Stability ◽  
Cross Section ◽  
Poiseuille Flow ◽  
Critical Reynolds Number ◽  
Major Axis ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Minor Axis ◽  
Critical Reynolds Numbers ◽  
The Stability

The linear stability of Poiseuille flow in an elliptic pipe which is nearly circular is examined by regarding the flow as a perturbation of Poiseuille flow in a circular pipe. We show that the temporal damping rates of non-axisymmetric infinitesimal disturbances which are concentrated near the wall of the pipe are decreased by the ellipticity. In particular we estimate that if the length of the minor axis of the cross-section of the pipe is less than about 96 ½% of that of the major axis then the flow will be unstable and a critical Reynolds number will exist. Also we calculate estimates of the ellipticities which will produce critical Reynolds numbers ranging from 1000 upwards.

Taphonomy, age, and paleoecological implication of a new Pachyrhinosaurus (Dinosauria: Ceratopsidae) bonebed from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Wapiti Formation of Alberta, Canada

2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 250-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Fanti ◽  
Philip J. Currie ◽  
Michael E. Burns
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Oxbow Lakes ◽  
Burial History ◽  
Western Interior Seaway ◽  
History Of ◽  
Depositional Setting ◽  
Horseshoe Canyon Formation ◽  
Average Bone ◽  
Upper Campanian

The Grande Prairie region (Alberta, Canada) includes some of the richest Cretaceous fossil sites in North America, including the recently described bonebed of Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai at the Pipestone Creek locality. Here we describe a new multi-taxa, ceratopsian-dominated bonebed from the region, integrating taphonomic, radioisotopic, and paleoecological data. The bonebed can be traced for 107 m and has been excavated over an area of 40 m2 with an average bone density of 30–50 elements/m2. The new bonebed occurs within Unit 4 of the upper Campanian Wapiti Formation, and 40Ar/39Ar dating provides an age of 71.89 ± 0.14 Ma, thus making the site equivalent in age to the upper Drumheller Member of the lower Horseshoe Canyon Formation of central Alberta. About 88% of vertebrate remains are ceratopsian, and dromaeosaurid, hadrosaurid, troodontid, and tyrannosaurid remains have also been identified. Juvenile material, although scarce, indicates an assemblage of individuals of different ages. Specimens showed no strong preferred two-dimensional orientation but are clearly sorted vertically. Taphonomic and sedimentological interpretation support a complex pre-burial history of preserved elements as well as a depositional setting characterized by persistent waterlogged conditions as those typical of large oxbow lakes or marshy/swampy areas, as well as lacustrine settings within an alluvial plain. Being located more than 450 km inland from the paleo-coastline, the new bonebed represents one of the farthest-known inland occurrence of centrosaurines in North America, further supporting the presence of large aggregations of ceratopsian far from the coastal lowlands of the Western Interior Seaway.

Numerical Analysis of Laminar Flow in Curved Elliptic Ducts

1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. F. Dong ◽  
M. A. Ebadian
Keyword(s):  
Laminar Flow ◽  
Cross Section ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Control Volume ◽  
Major Axis ◽  
Minor Axis ◽  
Dean Number ◽  
Axis Ratio ◽  
Symmetry Line ◽  
Curved Duct

The complete form of the Navier-Stokes equations is solved in this paper for a steady, incompressible, fully developed laminar flow in a curved duct of elliptic cross section. This is achieved by the use of the control volume-based finite difference method via the numerically generated boundary fitted coordinate system. The curvature ratio is included in the primitive variable governing equations, which are solved based on the SIMPLE algorithm. Solutions are obtained for the minor-axis to major-axis ratios of the elliptic duct, 0.2, 0.5, and 0.8, and for Dean numbers ranging from 11.41 to 635.7. It is found that only one pair of vortices appears on the cross-section, even at a Dean number of 635.7. The friction factor and the ratios of the curved duct to straight duct are tabulated and the correlation equation is developed. Furthermore, the distribution of the axial velocity is displayed graphically to illustrate its variations with the Dean number and the minor-axis to major-axis ratio of the elliptic duct on the horizontal symmetry line and on the half-vertical symmetry line. The present method is also applied to solve for a fully developed laminar flow in a curved square flow. The results are compared with the data available in the literature and very close agreement is observed.

The first appearance of Troodon in the Upper Cretaceous site of Danek Bonebed, and a reevaluation of troodontid quantitative tooth morphotypes

2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (11) ◽  
pp. 1039-1044 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelica Torices ◽  
Gregory F. Funston ◽  
Shannon T. Kraichy ◽  
Philip J. Currie
Keyword(s):  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Systematic Position ◽  
Sister Taxon ◽  
Theropod Dinosaur ◽  
Single Tooth ◽  
Horseshoe Canyon Formation ◽  
Upper Campanian

The systematic position of the small theropod dinosaur Troodon has had a confusing history and has been identified at different times as a lizard, a pachycephalosaurid, and a coelurosaurid. Troodon is now most commonly considered as a sister taxon to Dromeaosauridae, within Maniraptora. This study records the first evidence of Troodon in the Danek bonebed, an organic-rich member of the upper Campanian Horseshoe Canyon Formation. A single tooth (UALVP 55489) was recovered during the 2012 dig season, and it is exceptionally well-preserved. Its discovery prompted a reevaluation of variation within troodontid teeth in Alberta; it is compared here with 110 troodontid teeth from the Dinosaur Park, Horseshoe Canyon, and Wapiti formations. The results show that no distinctive morphotypes can be separated, in contrast to the results of other studies. This suggests that either troodontid teeth are not sufficiently different for identifying different species or that only one troodontid taxon is present in the Campanian of Alberta.

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