On the skull of a pliosaur (Plesiosauria; Pliosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous (Early Turonian) of the North American Western Interior

2008 ◽  
Vol 111 (3 & 4) ◽  
pp. 203-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce A. Schumacher
1971 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 916-938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard C. Fox

Mammalian teeth collected from the early Campanian Upper Milk River Formation, southernmost Alberta, document a hitherto unknown evolutionary radiation of Late Cretaceous ptilodontoid and taeniolabidoid multituberculates. New species of the ectypodontids Mesodma and Cimexomys, the ptilodontid Cimolodon, and the cimolomyid Meniscoessus are defined, and teeth possibly pertaining to a second species of Mesodma and two species of Cimolomys are described. A new genus and species with uncertain relationships to known multituberculate families, is tentatively classified in the Taeniolabidoidea. Among North American Late Cretaceous multituberculates, at least Mesodma, Cimexomys, Cimolodon, Cimolomys, and Meniscoessus are seen to be evolutionarily conservative during early Campanian to late Maestrichtian times. The effects of sampling error on relative taxonomic diversity at horizons in the North American Upper Cretaceous are discussed.


1990 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoki Kase

The basal part of the Upper Cretaceous, mid-Campanian to Maastrichtian Izumi Group of the Izumi Mountains and Awaji Island, Southwest Japan, contains the most diverse gastropod fauna of this age in Japan. This paper discriminates 19 species and describes two new genera: Atira tricarinata n. sp., Ataphrus (s.s.) sp. A, Ataphrus (s.s.) sp. B, Globularia (s.s.) izumiensis n. sp., Lysis izumiensis n. sp., Trichotropis? sp., Deussenia takinoikensis n. sp., Volutilithes antiqua n. sp., Pseudoperissitys bicarinata Nagao and Otatume, Nekewis sp., Nipponitys inouei n. gen. and sp., Nipponitys acutangularis n. gen. and sp., Nipponitys sp. cf. N. magna (Kalishevitsch), Calorebama cretacea n. sp., Taniella japonica n. gen. and sp., Amuletum (s.s.) sp., Biplica osakensis n. sp., Biplica sphaerica n. sp., and Cylichna sp. The family Ampullospiridae is assigned to the suborder Architaenioglossa from the superfamily Naticacea. The enigmatic genus Lysis is tentatively assigned to the Calyptraeidae. Taniella japonica n. sp. is the oldest member of the family Olividae, and Calorebama cretacea n. sp. is the oldest member of the subfamily Pseudolivinae. Occurrence of Atira, Ataphrus, Biplica, and five perissityids further supports close communication of the northwestern Pacific Late Cretaceous gastropod faunas with those of the North American Pacific coastal areas.


1998 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 532-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Cifelli ◽  
Christian De Muizon

Little is known of the non-dinosaurian fauna from the Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) part of the North Horn Formation, despite its biogeographic importance. Herein we describe a new marsupial mammal from the unit, founded on an exceptionally complete specimen of a juvenile individual, and present new information on the incisor region of early marsupials, based on comparison with complete specimens from the early Paleocene of Bolivia. Alphadon eatoni, new species, is the smallest Lancian species of the genus, and departs from a presumed marsupial morphotype in having the second lower incisor enlarged. The species is, however, primitive in lacking a “staggered” pattern to the incisor series and in having a labial mandibular foramen, and in these respects it differs from Paleocene and later marsupials. Poor representation of other taxa precludes meaningful comparison to most other North American Cretaceous marsupials, although Eodelphis, thought to be distantly related, also has an enlarged i2. Although Alphadon is characterized by many primitive features, the relative development of the incisors is not what would be predicted in a morphological antecedent to later Marsupialia.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-276
Author(s):  
Rodney M Feldmann ◽  
Carrie E Schweitzer ◽  
James W Haggart

Abstract The description of a new species of an erymid lobster, Stenodactylina beardi, from the Upper Cretaceous Haslam Formation of the Nanaimo Group on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, brings to fifteen the number of Erymidae in North America. The species are arrayed within five genera based upon configuration of carapace groove morphology, resulting in two new combinations, Stenodactylina bordenensis (Copeland, 1960) and S. foersteri (Feldmann, 1979). The new species exhibits for the first time a male pleopod and accessory structures within Erymoidea. We also provide a list of the North American species of Erymoidea.


1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 578-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keqin Gao ◽  
Lianhai Hou

Squamate fossils collected for the Sino-Canadian dinosaur expeditions (1986–1990) include some 70 specimens from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Djadochta Formation, exposed at the vicinity of Bayan Mandahu, Inner Mongolia, China. Well-preserved skulls, jaws, postcranial skeletons, and even osteodermal armor document a fossil assemblage composed of at least 18 genera in 8 families. Besides showing considerable taxonomic diversity, several families recorded in the assemblage are of importance in understanding the geologic and biogeographic distribution of the relevant groups, and the paleoenvironment in which these lizards lived. Comparison of the Gobi lizard assemblage with North American and Central Asian assemblages is briefly discussed. Taxonomic differences in the assemblage from that of the Upper Cretaceous in the North American Western Interior reflect endemism and suggest a low frequency of interchange of small terrestrial vertebrates between the two regions during Campanian time. The taphonomic setting of the squamate fossils indicates quick burial in arid to semiarid environments in the Gobi Desert, differing importantly from the Western Interior of North America, where the accumulation of disarticulated jaw fragments reflects postmortem decomposition and fluvial transportation under subtropical to warm temperate conditions.


1965 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
pp. 1-192
Author(s):  
T Birkelund

Ammonites from Nûgssuaq and Svartenhuk, belonging to the genera Hypophylloceras, Saghalinites, Pseudophyllites, Baculites, Diplomoceras, Scaphites, Clioscaphites, Haresiceras and Borissjakoceras, are described. Baculites and Scaphites are richly represented, and the material provides a basis for evaluating the subgenera Hoploscaphites and Discoscaphites. The ontogeny and the phylogeny of most of the genera are discussed and juvenile stages of Saghalinites and Scaphites described. Eleven new species and three new subspecies are introduced. The stratigraphical, palaeogeographical and palaeoecological aspeets of the ammonite assemblages are considered, and a discussion of sexual dimorphism in Scaphites is given. The presence of 12 biozones from the Upper Turonian?, Coniacian, Santonian, Campanian and Maastrichtian is demonstrated. The stratigraphical correlation of European and North American Upper Cretaceous deposits is discussed and the West Greenland zones are correlated with North American and European ammonite zones. All the Upper Turonian ?-Santonian species have affinities with species endemic to the Western Interior of North America. One of the genera, Clioscaphites from the Santonian, occur only within that area. The Campanian scaphites and baculites are at first mostly like species from the Interior of North America, later, in the Upper Campanian, European affinities are more prominent. Haresiceras from the Lower Campanian is endemic to the Western Interior of North America. The Maastrichtian scaphites and baculites are closely related to endemic species from the Interior of North America, principally from the Fox Hills Formation of the type area. Hypophylloceras, Saghalinites and Pseudophyllites from the Campanian-Maastrichtian have Indo-Pacific relations and Diplomoceras may be related to European forms. The ammonites, together with the belemnites and inoceramids from the area, so far as they are identified, show that a sea-way to the north, through the Arctic Seas, conneeted this area with the Interior of North America from the Upper Turonian or Coniacian to the Maastrichtian. The area apparently was also connected with Europe by a sea-way during that part of the Upper Cretaceous. The occurrence of ammonites with Indo-Pacific affinities may further indicate the presence of a northern sea-way between the Pacific and the Arctic Seas during parts of the Campanian-Maastrichtian interval.Scaphites is given. The presence of 12 biozones from the Upper Turonian?, Coniacian, Santonian, Campanian and Maastrichtian is demonstrated. The stratigraphical correlation of European and North American Upper Cretaceous deposits is discussed and the West Greenland zones are correlated with North American and European ammonite zones. All the Upper Turonian ?-Santonian species have affinities with species endemic to the Western Interior of North America. One of the genera, Clioscaphites from the Santonian, occur only within that area. The Campanian scaphites and baculites are at first mostly like species from the Interior of North America, later, in the Upper Campanian, European affinities are more prominent. Haresiceras from the Lower Campanian is endemic to the Western Interior of North America. The Maastrichtian scaphites and baculites are closely related to endemic species from the Interior of North America, principally from the Fox Hills Formation of the type area. Hypophylloceras, Saghalinites and Pseudophyllites from the Campanian-Maastrichtian have Indo-Pacific relations and Diplomoceras may be related to European forms. The ammonites, together with the belemnites and inoceramids from the area, so far as they are identified, show that a sea-way to the north, through the Arctic Seas, conneeted this area with the Interior of North America from the Upper Turonian or Coniacian to the Maastrichtian. The area apparently was also connected with Europe by a sea-way during that part of the Upper Cretaceous. The occurrence of ammonites with Indo-Pacific affinities may further indicate the presence of a northern sea-way between the Pacific and the Arctic Seas during parts of the Campanian-Maastrichtian interval.


2014 ◽  
Vol 126 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 1439-1464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clayton S. Painter ◽  
Barbara Carrapa ◽  
Peter G. DeCelles ◽  
George E. Gehrels ◽  
Stuart N. Thomson

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