The 14th Annual Kansas Academy of Science 

Paleontology Symposium

was held during the 145th Annual Meeting of 

The Kansas Academy of Science

at

Johnson County Community College,

Overland Park, Kansas

 

April 6, 2013

 

For more information regarding the KAS Paleontology Symposiums, please contact Mike Everhart

Paleontology in the Midwest

Join Cope, Marsh, Mudge, Williston, the Sternbergs, H. T. Martin, L.D. Martin and the many others who have reported on fossils from the Western Interior Sea and the Midwest.

 

LEFT: The 2013 design for the free T-shirt for presenters at the 14th Paleo-symposium.  This year we are honoring Dr. Larry D. Martin (1944-2013) and his contributions to the science of paleontology. 

Abstracts from the 2013 Paleo-symposium

Published in Volume 116 of the Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science (2013)

Connolly, A.M. and Martin, L.D. Biodiversity Institute, 2. University of Kansas. THE PALEOBIOGEOGRAPHICAL EFFECTS OF THE PARIETAL FORAMEN ON MOSASAURS. 

Modern vertebrates living in high latitude environments require a larger pineal gland or parietal foramen (PF) than vertebrates living in low latitude environments. This correlation, however, may or may not apply to ancient vertebrates because the PF is rarely researched. Mosasaurs (Squamata, Mosasauridae) are a group of extinct marine lizards that were distributed worldwide during the Late Cretaceous. The global distribution of mosasaurs makes them ideal for testing the biogeographical effects of the PF. In order to test the biogeographical effects of the PF, a ratio was calculated between the length and width of the PF to the length of the parietal bone. The ratios were then averaged between specimens belonging to the same genus. This averaged ratio was then compared to the latitudinal distributions of their respective genera. A second test was done by comparing the PF size of specimens of varying latitudinal distribution within the same genus using the same calculated ratio. High latitudinal mosasaurs, such as Platecarpus and Plioplatecarpus, had a larger PF than low latitude mosasaurs Clidastes and Tylosaurus. These results likely indicate that the PF controlled the latitudinal distribution of mosasaurs among genera as it does in extant squamates. The second test was focused on high vs. lowlatitudedwelling specimens of Platecarpus and Plioplatecarpus. Specimens studied all had about the same PF size. This pattern likely indicates that Platecarpus and Plioplatecarpus individuals were not restricted to any latitudinal zone. More specimens need to be analyzed before a confident evaluation can be made for both tests.

 

Everhart, M., Sternberg Museum of Natural History. A NEW SPECIMEN OF THE MARINE TURTLE, PROTOSTEGA GIGAS COPE (CRYPTODIRA; PROTOSTEGIDAE), FROM THE LATE CRETACEOUS SMOKY HILL CHALK OF WESTERN KANSAS. 

The remains of the first Protostega gigas turtle (YPM 1408) were discovered in the upper Smoky Hill Chalk (Late Cretaceous; early Campanian) of western Kansas by the Yale Scientific Expedition of 1871. Later that same year, E.D. Cope collected and named the type specimen (AMNH FR1503), then described it in 1872. Since that time, more than a dozen reasonably complete specimens have been discovered in the Smoky Hill Chalk member of the Niobrara Formation, most of them by Charles H. or George F. Sternberg. P. gigas was the largest known marine turtle in the Western Interior Seaway during early Campanian time, and was only eclipsed in size by the later occurring Archelon ischyros. In October 2011, a new, articulated specimen of P. gigas (FHSM VP17979) was collected from the middle Santonian chalk above Hattin’s marker unit 7 in eastern Gove County, Kansas. Most of the skull is missing and the left humerus is severed at midshaft. In addition, the turtle exhibits nearly a hundred puncture wounds on the plastron, damage which is consistent with a failed predatory attack by a large mosasaur like Tylosaurus proriger. Although the remains appear to be those of an adult, the specimen is relatively small in size (80 cm across the carapace) compared to later occurring examples of the species. The specimen also represents the earliest documented occurrence of this species, extending the fossil record of P. gigas some 2 million years.

 

Falk, A.R., University of Kansas. CREATING A SYNTHESIS BETWEEN AVIAN ICHNOLOGY AND ORNITHOLOGY 

Avian ichnology and ornithology (including paleoornithology) have been considered two disparate field of study. Most ichnologists are primarily geologists, whereas ornithologists are biologists; this has created a false dichotomy between the two fields that has rarely been bridged. A few recent studies, mostly examining fossil trackways from the ?Jurassic and Miocene of Argentina, have begun building a framework between modern and ancient bird tracks; however, there is still a great deal of work to be done. No studies have quantified avian trace making behaviors, resulting in a shortage of studies on modern avian tracks. As a result, few attempts have been made to identify potential avian trace makers. Tracks, in general, are identified as shore birdlike or webbed footed, and no further identifications are made. Too often, track evidence is not included in studies of avian paleodiversity and paleobiogeography, which results in an incomplete dataset; for example, there are no avian body fossils in South Korea, however, there are several Early Cretaceous avian tracksites with thousands of individual tracks. Focusing solely on body fossils and disregarding trace fossils can result in major errors when reconstructing the distribution of fossil birds. Trace fossils also represent hidden diversity: there are tracks from the Lower Cretaceous Haman Formation of South Korea that are identical to those left by modern spoonbills; however, no body fossils of spoonbill ecomorphs are known. Examining both body and trace fossils will give researchers a better understanding of avian origins and their early evolution, diversification and distribution.  

 

Gibson, S.Z., University of Kansas Department of Geology and Biodiversity Institute. SEMIONOTID FISHES (NEOPTERYGII: SEMIONOTIFORMES) FROM THE UPPER TRIASSIC CHINLE FORMATION: NEW SPECIES AND COMMENTS ON THE RELATIONSHIPS OF SEMIONOTIFORM FISHES. 

Fossilized remains of semionotiform fishes from the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation of the southwestern United States are abundant, yet understudied. In this investigation, I describe a new genus from specimens collected from Triassic (Norian) deposits in Lisbon Valley, Utah, with two new species, as well as specimens previously attributed to Semionotus kanabensis. One of the new species within the new genus displays a unique combination of characteristics, including a unique cranial suspensorium with a short, ventrally expanded vertical preoperculum; expanded infraorbitals that contact the preoperculum; deep body with pronounced postcranial hump; and dense tuberculation that begins on the skull roof and continues onto the dorsal ridge scales and dorsolateral flank scales. The other new species is smaller and lacks the deep body morphology and postcranial hump and tuberculation. It also differs in the morphology of the suspensorium, but shares the expanded infraorbitals that contact the anterior ramus of the preoperculum. Expanded infraobitals are also described in Semionotus kanabensis, and while they are also found in other ginglymodian taxa, they are not observed in other species of Semionotus and are unique to this group of fishes in the United States. A phylogenetic analysis shows that this new genus of semionotid fishes is distinct from and sister to the genus Semionotus within the family Semionotidae.

 

Hageman, S.A., Claycomb, G.D., and Hoffman, B.L., Park University. CLASSIFICATION AND CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF THE PARK UNIVERSITY BALTIC AMBER COLLECTION (EOCENE). 

Currently, the majority of the Park University amber collection is composed of 30 specimens with 32 insects and described as Baltic amber (Eocene). An analysis reveals 38% Hymenoptera, 31% Unknown (6 winged; 1 wingless; 3 unidentifiable), 22% Diptera and 9% Other. Unfortunately, identifications are complicated by surface cracking that obscure details. The Order Hymenoptera is represented by Chalcidoidea wasps, Mymaridae wasps, Formicidae ants and other unidentified Parasitic wasps. The Order Diptera is represented by Nematocera (Mycteophiloidea; fungus gnats), Trichoptera (caddisfly), and Cyclorrphapha (advanced flies). Also present is one specimen each of Neuroptera (lacewings), Coleoptera (beetles) and Acari (ticks and mites). The rarest individual in the collection appears to be a larval tick that has six legs and a distinctive spot on the back (resembling a modern Amblyomma), but the gnathosoma is not visible for confirming it is a tick or a mite. Instrumental analysis is important in determining the chemical composition of amber, such as succinic acid levels, which aids in determining the age and botanical origin of the amber. These 30 samples provide an opportunity to confirm they are Baltic samples and not of other European origins (Bitterfeld, Rovno or Scandinavian) by comparing chemical results to known resin properties. Early indications suggest a Baltic origin, but chemical signatures will hopefully translate to a known forest or tree species of a specific Eocene stage.

 

Hamm, S.A., Wichita, KS. THE FIRST ASSOCIATED TOOTH SET OF PTYCHODUS MAMMILLARIS IN NORTH AMERICA. 

Described here is the first occurrence of an associated tooth set of the Ptychodontiform shark P. mammillaris (FHSM VP 17989) from the Pfeifer Shale member (Lower middle Turonian) of the Greenhorn Limestone in Russell County, Kansas. The specimen consists of 47 teeth and represents the earliest stratigraphic occurrence of the species in Kansas and the Western Interior Seaway. Although found disarticulated, this tooth set consists of teeth from eight different tooth file positions which demonstrates the heterodonty in the dentition of P. mammillaris. This specimen is unique as the lower medial teeth from this tooth set are the largest teeth of P. mammillaris found in North America to date.

 

Hoffman, B.L. and Hageman, S.A., Park University. AMPHIBIAN REMAINS FROM THE IOLA AND WYANDOTTE LIMESTONES, KANSAS CITY GROUP (UPPER PENNSYLVANIAN) IN PLATTE COUNTY, MISSOURI. 

We have recently recovered scattered amphibian remains from acetic acid macerations of the Argentine and Frisbie Limestone members of the Wyandotte Limestone Formation and the Raytown Limestone member of the Iola Limestone Formation. Although the remains are fragmentary and not identifiable to the species level, they are consistent with the Microsauria. Few skull fragments have been found: a relatively complete dentary bone, six stapes and fragments that are consistent with the small toothed palatine and vomer bones of several microsaurs. Most of the remains consist of about 220 vertebrae, including the atlasaxis complex, as well as several presacral and postsacral vertebrae. One femur is the only element of the appendicular skeleton that has been identified. These amphibians likely inhabited a freshwater environment near an estuary, being consumed by fishes swimming upriver that transported the remains to the marine environments in which these limestones were deposited, as evidenced by abundant sea urchin, conodont, shark, crinoid, sponge, brachiopod and mollusk fossils. This site is located along a band extending through Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, Ohio, Nova Scotia, Ireland, Germany and Czech Republic, which would have been positioned at about 510 degrees north paleolatitude during the Upper Pennsylvanian. This appears to be the first report of amphibian remains in these strata.

 

McCartney, S., Pittsburg State University, Palm Beach Museum of Natural History, Wichita Paleontological Society. THE MODERNIZATION OF FIELD COLLECTING METHODS IN PALEONTOLOGY: A CASE STUDY. 

The process of fossil collecting with regard to field work has always been a challenging task. The field collector or collecting party has spent most of the history of paleontology working with some specific issues: extreme conditions of collecting sites, exact locations of current or past sites, site and depositional information recording, and field identification. The collecting party has for most of the past had to operate as an independent extension of the institution or entity it was doing the collecting for. This has become improved with the use of cell phones and the features of smart phones and the Internet. With recent advancements in the field of computers, software and scanning technology, the techniques used for fossil collecting and data capture can be greatly refined and produce higher qualities of the data recorded. In this presentation a case study is provided to illustrate how implementation of the use of mobile computers, the Internet, scanners and consumerfriendly software can be used in conjunction to bring modern data collection techniques to the field of paleontology.

 

McCartney, S., Ward, J.R., Pittsburg State University, Palm Beach Museum of Natural History, Wichita Paleontological Society. A NEW PROCESS FOR THE CREATION, MANIPULATION AND RESTORATION OF 3D VIRTUAL MODELS FOR RAPID PROTOTYPING OF FOSSIL SPECIMENS. 

Three dimensional (3D) modeling has always been an integral part of the paleontological process of research. Originally this was accomplished through the use of skilled artists creating hand drawn and sculpted replicas of fossil remains. Now with the advent of more advanced computers, elaborate but user friendly software, and relatively inexpensive portable 3D scanners, it is possible to create a virtual model of the fossil specimens. Utilizing a Next Engine scanner, an accurate 3D model is created and complied with the assistance of the scanner software. This digital file or “digital specimen” can now be modified and manipulated as needed to either capture a specific aspect or for the purpose of restoration. Through the use of commercial available software such as Autodesk 3D Max or Z Brush, the effects of deformation and damage to the original specimen can be removed from the digital specimen. Once this process has been completed, the digital specimen can then be sent to any form of rapid prototyping machine or output process.


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Sponsored by:

The Kansas Academy of Science

and

Oceans of Kansas Paleontology

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