A new specimen of Utatsusaurus (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from the Lower Triassic Sulphur Mountain Formation of British Columbia

1993 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 486-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth L. Nicholls ◽  
Donald Brinkman

An incomplete skull and mandible of the primitive ichthyosaur Utatsusaurus is described from the Lower Triassic Vega Phroso Member of the Sulphur Mountain Formation of British Columbia. The specimen contributes to our knowledge of the cranial anatomy of the genus, which was previously known primarily from postcranial material, and extends its geographic range to Canada. The presence of an isodont dentition in this primitive genus suggests that isodonty rather than heterodonty may be the primitive character state for the Ichthyosauria.

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Teresa A. Newsome ◽  
Jean L. Heineman ◽  
Amanda F. Linnell Nemec

Critical height ratios for predicting competition between trembling aspen and lodgepole pine were identified in six juvenile stands in three south-central British Columbia ecosystems. We used a series of regression analyses predicting pine stem diameter from the density of neighbouring aspen in successively shorter relative height classes to identify the aspen-pine height ratio that maximizedR2. Critical height ratios varied widely among sites when stands were 8–12 years old but, by age 14–19, had converged at 1.25–1.5. MaximumR2values at age 14–19 ranged from 13.4% to 69.8%, demonstrating that the importance of aspen competition varied widely across a relatively small geographic range. Logistic regression also indicated that the risk of poor pine vigour in the presence of aspen varied between sites. Generally, the degree of competition, risk to pine vigour, and size of individual aspen contributing to the models declined along a gradient of decreasing ecosystem productivity.


2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew G Neuman ◽  
Raoul J Mutter

A new species of stem actinopterygian, Helmolepis cyphognatus sp. nov., is reported from the Lower Triassic Sulphur Mountain Formation of western Canada (probably Smithian). This taxon differs from the only other known Early Triassic platysiagid, H. gracilis from the Lower Triassic Wordie Creek Formation of East Greenland (Griesbachian), in counts of branchiostegal rays, shape of the maxilla, shape (and possibly counts) of extrascapulars, and the size ratio of major opercular bones. In spite of their overall unfavorable preservation, the numerous available specimens amend our knowledge of the little known genus Helmolepis considerably: it has become evident that the morphology of Helmolepis cyphognatus sp. nov. comes closest to Platysiagum minus (Middle Triassic Besano Formation of central Europe). This study suggests placement of the two genera in the family Platysiagidae. Investigation of this new species also shows certain features of the cheek and the caudal fin are more primitive than previously believed, whereas the snout region is probably derived but of yet uncertain affinities in Helmolepis.


1990 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Martin Sander ◽  
Hugo Bucher

The small ichthyosaurMixosaurusis the most widely distributed ichthyosaur. It is known from Lower Triassic rocks of British Columbia, Canada (Callaway and Brinkman, 1989), and Middle Triassic rocks of northwestern North America (Alaska, British Columbia), China, Timor, the western Tethys (Switzerland, Italy, Turkey), the Germanic Triassic, and the high Arctic (Spitsbergen, Exmouth Island) (Mazin, 1986; Callaway and Brinkman, 1989; Callaway and Massare, 1989). The presence ofMixosaurusin one of the richest ichthyosaur provinces, the Middle Triassic of Nevada (Merriam, 1908), has been difficult to establish. The history of this problem is very colorful and is the topic of this note together with the description of a new specimen from the Nevada Middle Triassic.


1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 630-639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcia J. Waterway

The structures of the achene epidermal cells and their included silica deposits are illustrated and described for 28 species that have been referred to Carex section Hymenochlaenae. On the basis of these epidermal features, there are anomalous species in nearly all of the subsections and sections that have been circumscribed by Kükenthal, Mackenzie, Ohwi, and Koyama. Furthermore, some species with nearly indistinguishable achene surface features have quite different overall morphologies and have traditionally been placed in different sections. Similarities in the structure of the silica deposits in the achene epidermal cells may result from the retention of the primitive character state in several different lineages or from parallel development of modified silica bodies or wall structures in different lineages. Levels of homoplasy appear to be too high to make these characters reliable indicators of evolutionary relationships in Carex section Hymenochlaenae.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 20150763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke Parry ◽  
Jakob Vinther ◽  
Gregory D. Edgecombe

The oldest fossil annelids come from the Early Cambrian Sirius Passet and Guanshan biotas and Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. While these are among the best preserved polychaete fossils, their relationship to living taxa is contentious, having been interpreted either as members of extant clades or as a grade outside the crown group. New morphological observations from five Cambrian species include the oldest polychaete with head appendages, a new specimen of Pygocirrus from Sirius Passet, and an undescribed form from the Burgess Shale. We propose that the palps of Canadia are on an anterior segment bearing neuropodia and that the head of Phragmochaeta is formed of a segment bearing biramous parapodia and chaetae. The unusual anatomy of these taxa suggests that the head is not differentiated into a prostomium and peristomium, that palps are derived from a modified parapodium and that the annelid head was originally a parapodium-bearing segment. Canadia , Phragmochaeta and the Marble Canyon annelid share the presence of protective notochaetae, interpreted as a primitive character state subsequently lost in Pygocirrus and Burgessochaeta , in which the head is clearly differentiated from the trunk.


1971 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 927-928
Author(s):  
Alex E. Peden

Previously, the known geographic range of the masked greenling, Hexagrammos octogrammus (Pallas), extended north and west of Sitka, Alaska. The capture of four juvenile specimens from Stephens Island near Prince Rupert extends the known range by more than 200 miles and provides the first records of this species from British Columbia.


Rangifer ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.R. Seip ◽  
D.B. Cichowski

The abundance and geographic range of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) decreased in many areas of British Columbia during the 1900's. Recent studies have found that predation during the summer is the major cause of mortality and current population declines. Increased moose {Alecs alces) populations may be related to past and current caribou declines by sustaining greater numbers of wolves (Canis lupus). Mortality rates were greater in areas where caribou calved in forested habitats, in close proximity to predators and moose. Caribou populations which had calving sites in alpine areas, islands, and rugged mountains experienced lower mortality and were generally stable or increasing. A predator-induced population decline in one area appeared to stabilize at low caribou densities, suggesting that the wolf predation rate may be density dependent.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J Erasmus ◽  
Emily A Yurkowski ◽  
Dezene PW Huber

Anthropogenic pressures on aquatic systems have placed a renewed focus on biodiversity of aquatic macroinvertebrates. By combining classical taxonomy and DNA barcoding we identified 39 species of caddisflies from the Crooked River, a unique and sensitive system in the southernmost arctic watershed in British Columbia. Our records include three species never before recorded in British Columbia: Lepidostoma togatum (Lepidostomatidae), Ceraclea annulicornis (Leptoceridae), and Cheumatopsyche harwoodi (Hydropsychidae). Three other specimens may represent new occurrence records and a number of other records seem to be substantial observed geographic range expansions within British Columbia.


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