Ostrich Dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of Western Canada

1972 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale A. Russell
Keyword(s):  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Skeletal Morphology ◽  
General Body ◽  
Body Form ◽  
The Family ◽  
Secondary Palate ◽  
Highly Evolved ◽  
Upper Campanian

The family Ornithomimidae is defined on the basis of the skeletal morphology of the three genera Ornithomimus, Struthiomimus, and Dromiceiomimus known in continental strata in Alberta, which are temporally equivalent to the Upper Campanian substage. At least two genera occur in Canadian Lance (Upper Maestrichtian) equivalent strata, but cannot be identified at present. A group of more primitive ornithomimoid theropods is represented else-where by the late Jurassic Elaphrosaurus and early Cretaceous Archaeornithomimus.Ornithomimid attributes include a general body form which parallels that of the ratites; elongate forelimbs, a kinetic skull, enormous eyes, a relatively highly evolved brain, and possibly a secondary palate and supertemporal fenestrae which were nearly encircled by alae of the squamosal. A reconstruction of the myology of the thigh indicates that ornithomimids were extremely fleet, but lacked the agility characteristic of modern large ground birds. They probably subsisted on small, soft-bodied animals.

The skeletal morphology of the solemydid turtleNaomichelys speciosafrom the Early Cretaceous of Texas

2014 ◽  
Vol 88 (6) ◽  
pp. 1257-1287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter G. Joyce ◽  
Juliana Sterli ◽  
Sandra D. Chapman
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Lower Cretaceous ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Posterior Margin ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Ventral View ◽  
Skeletal Morphology ◽  
History Of

The fossil record of solemydid turtles is primarily based on isolated fragments collected from Late Jurassic to Late Cretaceous sediments throughout North America and Europe and little is therefore known about the morphology and evolutionary history of the group. We here provide a detailed description of the only known near-complete solemydid skeleton, which was collected from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian–Albian) Antlers Formation of Texas during the mid-twentieth century, but essentially remains undescribed to date. Though comparison is limited, the skeleton is referred toNaomichelys speciosa, which is based on an isolated entoplastron from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian–Albian) Kootenai (Cloverly) Formation of Montana. The absence of temporal emarginations, contribution of the jugals to the orbits, and a clear subdivision of the middle and inner cavities, and the presence of elongate postorbitals, posteriorly expanded squamosals, a triangular fossa at the posterior margin of the squamosals, an additional pair of tubercula basioccipitale that is formed by the pterygoids, foramina pro ramo nervi vidiani (VII) that are visible in ventral view, shell sculpturing consisting of high tubercles, a large entoplastron with entoplastral scute, V-shaped anterior peripherals, and limb osteoderms with tubercular sculpture diagnoseNaomichelys speciosaas a representative of Solemydidae. The full visibility of the parabasisphenoid complex in ventral view, the presence of an expanded symphyseal shelf, and the unusual ventromedial folding of the coronoid process are the primary characteristics that distinguishNaomichelys speciosafrom the near-coeval European taxonHelochelydra nopcsai.

scholarly journals Competition structured a Late Cretaceous megaherbivorous dinosaur assemblage

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan C. Mallon
Keyword(s):  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Resource Limitation ◽  
Western North America ◽  
The Family ◽  
Structural Principles ◽  
Dinosaur Park Formation ◽  
Upper Campanian

Abstract Modern megaherbivore community richness is limited by bottom-up controls, such as resource limitation and resultant dietary competition. However, the extent to which these same controls impacted the richness of fossil megaherbivore communities is poorly understood. The present study investigates the matter with reference to the megaherbivorous dinosaur assemblage from the middle to upper Campanian Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta, Canada. Using a meta-analysis of 21 ecomorphological variables measured across 14 genera, contemporaneous taxa are demonstrably well-separated in ecomorphospace at the family/subfamily level. Moreover, this pattern is persistent through the approximately 1.5 Myr timespan of the formation, despite continual species turnover, indicative of underlying structural principles imposed by long-term ecological competition. After considering the implications of ecomorphology for megaherbivorous dinosaur diet, it is concluded that competition structured comparable megaherbivorous dinosaur communities throughout the Late Cretaceous of western North America.

Strepsiptera and triungula in Cretaceous amber

2005 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Schawaroch ◽  
Jeyaraney Kathirithamby ◽  
David Grimaldi
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
New Jersey ◽  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Adult Male ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Sister Group ◽  
Baltic Amber ◽  
Burmese Amber ◽  
The Family

AbstractThe first definitive strepsipteran is reported from the Cretaceous, named Cretostylops engeli, n.gen., n.sp., which is an adult male in amber from the mid-Cretaceous (approximately Cenomanian) of northern Myanmar (Burma). A triungulin from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian, c. 80 myo) of Manitoba, Canada is possibly a strepsipteran. The triungulin is described in detail but its morphology does not conform to any known clade of Recent strepsipterans. Other Cretaceous triungula reported here are in Burmese amber and are probably of the family Rhipiphoridae (Coleoptera), and bizarre (possibly coleopteran) triungula in mid-Cretaceous (Turonian, c. 90 myo) amber from New Jersey, USA. Phylogenetic analysis confirms the primitive position of Cretostylops among families of Strepsiptera, but it is not as primitive as Protoxenos in Eocene Baltic amber. Protoxenos and Cretostylops are still too highly modified to address the controversial relationships of Strepsiptera among insect orders, but the generalized structure of the mandible is inconsistent with the hypothesis that this order is the sister group to Diptera or closely related to Mecopterida. Phylogeny of living and Recent Strepsiptera suggests an origin of the order in the Early Cretaceous or Late Jurassic, which is also inconsistent with this order being a sister group to the much older Diptera.

scholarly journals Isolated pliosaurid teeth from the Albian–Cenomanian (Cretaceous) of Annopol, Poland

2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Madzia ◽  
Marcin Machalski
Keyword(s):  
Cross Section ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Type Species ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Morphological Variability ◽  
Original Material ◽  
Tooth Crown ◽  
Similar Morphology ◽  
Faunal Turnover ◽  
Early Late

AbstractBrachauchenine pliosaurids were a cosmopolitan clade of macropredatory plesiosaurs that are considered to represent the only pliosaurid lineage that survived the faunal turnover of marine amniotes during the Jurassic- Cretaceous transition. However, the European record of the Early to early Late Cretaceous brachauchenines is largely limited to isolated tooth crowns, most of which have been attributed to the classic Cretaceous taxon Polyptychodon. Nevertheless, the original material of P. interruptus, the type species of Polyptychodon, was recently reappraised and found undiagnostic. Here, we describe a collection of twelve pliosaurid teeth from the upper Albian-middle Cenomanian interval of the condensed, phosphorite-bearing Cretaceous succession at Annopol, Poland. Eleven of the studied tooth crowns, from the Albian and Cenomanian strata, fall within the range of the morphological variability observed in the original material of P. interruptus from the Cretaceous of England. One tooth crown from the middle Cenomanian is characterized by a gently subtrihedral cross-section. Similar morphology has so far been described only for pliosaurid teeth from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. Even though it remains impossible to precisely settle the taxonomic distinctions, the studied material is considered to be taxonomically heterogeneous.

Correlation of Grassy Lake and Cedar Lake ambers using infrared spectroscopy, stable isotopes, and palaeoentomology

2008 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 1061-1082 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan C. McKellar ◽  
Alexander P. Wolfe ◽  
Ralf Tappert ◽  
Karlis Muehlenbachs
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Fourier Transform ◽  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Geochemical Fingerprinting ◽  
Long Distance Transport ◽  
Distance Transport

The Late Cretaceous Grassy Lake and Cedar Lake amber deposits of western Canada are among North America’s most famous amber-producing localities. Although it has been suggested for over a century that Cedar Lake amber from western Manitoba may be a secondary deposit having originated from strata in Alberta, this hypothesis has not been tested explicitly using geochemical fingerprinting coupled to comparative analyses of arthropod faunal content. Although there are many amber-containing horizons associated with Cretaceous coals throughout Alberta, most are thermally mature and brittle, thus lacking the resilience to survive long distance transport while preserving intact biotic inclusions. One of the few exceptions is the amber found in situ at Grassy Lake. We present a suite of new analyses from these and other Late Cretaceous ambers from western Canada, including stable isotopes (H and C), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, and an updated faunal compendium for the Grassy and Cedar lakes arthropod assemblages. When combined with amber’s physical properties and stratigraphic constraints, the results of these analyses confirm that Cedar Lake amber is derived directly from the Grassy Lake amber deposit or an immediate correlative equivalent. This enables the palaeoenvironmental context of Grassy Lake amber to be extended to the Cedar Lake deposit, making possible a more inclusive survey of Cretaceous arthropod faunas.

Radiolarian assemblages of Middle and Late Jurassic to early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) ages from an olistolith record pelagic deposition within the Bornova Flysch Zone in western Turkey

2012 ◽  
Vol 183 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ugur Kagan Tekin ◽  
M. Cemal Göncüoglu ◽  
Seda Uzuncimen
Keyword(s):  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Middle Jurassic ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Western Turkey ◽  
Oceanic Basin ◽  
Platform Margin ◽  
Lowermost Part ◽  
Early Late ◽  
Radiolarian Assemblages

Abstract The Bornova Flysch Zone (BFZ) in NW Anatolia comprises several olistoliths or tectonic slivers, representing various parts of the Izmir-Ankara ocean. Radiolarian assemblages extracted from one of the olistoliths of the BFZ, cropping out along the Sögütlü section, to the NE Manisa city, were studied in detail. The lowermost part of the section contains latest Bajocian – early Callovian radiolarian taxa, followed by radiolarian assemblages indicating Late Jurassic to early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) ages. Previous studies reveal that the Izmir-Ankara oceanic basin was initially opened during late Ladinian – early Carnian. The new radiolarian data obtained from this olistolith reveals that relatively condensed, and possibly more or less continuous, pelagic sedimentation took place during the late Middle Jurassic to early Late Cretaceous in a non-volcanic oceanic basin closer to the Tauride-Anatolide platform margin.

Two new natatory asellote isopods (Crustacea) from the San Juan Archipelago, Baeonectes improvisus n. gen., n. sp. and Acanthamunnopsis milleri n. sp., with a revised description of A. hystrix Schultz

1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (12) ◽  
pp. 3332-3343 ◽  
Author(s):  
George D. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Surface Waters ◽  
Type Species ◽  
Saline Water ◽  
Original Description ◽  
San Juan ◽  
The Family ◽  
Two New Species ◽  
Juan De Fuca ◽  
Taxonomic Concept ◽  
Highly Evolved

Two new species of asellote isopods from the waters surroundng the San Juan Archipelago are described and diagnosed. Baeonectes improvisus n. gen., n. sp. and Acanthamunnopsis milleri n. sp. belong to the highly evolved, natatory families Eurycopidae and Munnopsidae, respectively. Baeonectes, a circum-arctic and boreal shallow-water genus, also includes B. muticus (Sars), the type-species. The taxonomic concept of Acanthamunnopsis has difficulties that must be resolved before A. milleri can be described. To this end, the family Acanthamunnopsidae Schultz is invalidated and merged with the Munnopsidae; the genus Acanthamunnopsis Schultz is revised; and A. hystrix, the type-species, is redescribed with corrections and additions to the original description. The unusual presence of the bathypelagic genus Acanthamunnopsis in the surface waters of the San Juan Archipelago is discussed. Acanthamunnopsis milleri is tentatively postulated to be a deep resident of the open ocean that was carried landward into the Strait of Juan de Fuca by upwelled intrusions of cold, saline water.

Parataxonomic classification of ornithoid eggshell fragments from the Oldman Formation (Judith River Group; Upper Cretaceous), southern Alberta

1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (12) ◽  
pp. 1655-1667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darla K. Zelenitsky ◽  
L. V. Hills ◽  
Philip J. Currie
Keyword(s):  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Shell Thickness ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Theropod Dinosaur ◽  
Surface Sculpture ◽  
External Zone ◽  
Theropod Dinosaurs ◽  
Southern Alberta ◽  
The Family

Examination of a large number of eggshell fragments collected from the Oldman Formation of southern Alberta reveals a greater ootaxonomic diversity than is known from complete eggs or clutches. Three new oogenera and oospecies of the ornithoid-ratite morphotype and one of the ornithoid-prismatic morphotype are established, based on the eggshell fragments. Porituberoolithus warnerensis oogen. et oosp. nov. and Continuoolithus canadensis oogen. et oosp. nov. have a microstructure similar to that of elongatoolithid eggs of theropod dinosaurs. Tristraguloolithus cracioides oogen. et oosp. nov. and Dispersituberoolithus exilis oogen. et oosp. nov. possess an external zone and thus have a microstructure like modern avian eggshell. Tristraguloolithus has a shell thickness, microstructure, and surface sculpture similar to those of recent bird eggshell of the family Cracidae (order Galliformes). Dispersituberoolithus exhibits the primitive or normal eggshell condition of some recent neognathous avian taxa. The ootaxa described indicate a diversity of both avian and theropod dinosaur egg layers within Devil's Coulee and Knight's Ranch, southern Alberta, during the Late Cretaceous.

The Cretaceous and Paleocene pleurotomariid (Gastropoda: Vetigastropoda) fauna of Seymour Island, Antarctica

2009 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 750-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. G. Harasewych ◽  
Anton Oleinik ◽  
William Zinsmeister
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
South America ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Southern India ◽  
New Combination ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Status ◽  
Seymour Island

Leptomaria antipodensis and Leptomaria hickmanae are described from the Upper Cretaceous [Maastrichtian] Lopez de Bertodano Formation, Seymour Island, and represent the first Mesozoic records of the family Pleurotomariidae from Antarctica. Leptomaria stillwelli, L. seymourensis, Conotomaria sobralensis and C. bayeri, from the Paleocene [Danian], Sobral Formation, Seymour Island, are described as new. Leptomaria larseniana (Wilckens, 1911) new combination, also from the Sobral Formation, is redescribed based on better-preserved material. The limited diversity of the pleurotomariid fauna of Seymour Island is more similar to that of the Late Cretaceous faunas of Australia and New Zealand in terms of the number of genera and species, than to the older, more diverse faunas of South America, southern India, or northwestern Madagascar, supporting the status of the Weddelian Province as a distinct biogeographic unit. The increase in the species richness of this fauna during the Danian may be due to the final fragmentation of Gondwana during this period.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document