| Title | Quantitative morphological description of the Late Cretaceous ammonite Baculites inornatus Meek from western North America: implications for species concepts in the biostratigraphically important
Baculitidae |
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| Author | Ward, P D; Haggart, J W; Mitchell, R; Catlin, E |
| Source | Journal of Paleontology no. 89, no. 4, 2015 p. 594-610, https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2015.33 |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2015 |
| Alt Series | Earth Sciences Sector, Contribution Series 20130364 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Area | Sucia islands; Punta San Jose; Washington; California; United States of America |
| Lat/Long WENS | -130.0000 -110.0000 50.0000 30.0000 |
| Subjects | paleontology; fossil assemblages; fossil distribution; fossils; fossil morphology; biostratigraphy; Ammonites; Baculites inornatus; Baculitidae; Mesozoic; Cretaceous |
| Illustrations | location maps; plots; photographs |
| Program | Science laboratory network |
| Released | 2015 11 09 |
| Abstract | Large collections of well-preserved specimens of the ammonite Baculites inornatus Meek (1862) from two lower to middle Campanian localities on the Pacific coast of North America are analyzed
quantitatively to examine both variability and evolutionary change of species-level distinguishing characters. To this end, we present a new method of describing the morphology of the biostratigraphically important Upper Cretaceous zonal index fossil
Baculites, using five independent shell characters that can be measured quantitatively. We then use this method to test hypotheses of phyletic evolutionary change in B. inornatus specimens collected from Sucia Island, Washington, USA, and Punta San
Jose, Baja California, Mexico.
The greatest observed character change is in mature shell size: baculitids from the older of the two outcrops (Sucia islands) show a smaller mean diameter at maturity compared to those of the younger of the two
outcrops (Punta San Jose). Other than this phyletic size increase, no other directional changes were observed from specimens collected at sub-meter precision from the 90 m-thick measured stratigraphic section of the Rosario Formation located at Punta
San Jose. Importantly, neither the younger nor older baculitid assemblages show a size distribution of mature specimens that can be attributed to sexual dimorphism. We observed fluctuating proportions of individuals with ribs and/or keels through
this section; since both characters have been used in previous taxonomic studies to define, or differentiate between, other Baculites species, our results indicate that no single character is sufficient to discriminate species within this lineage,
and that there is far more variation of these characters than has previously been accepted. Our methodology can also be used to assess morphologic variation and taxonomic assignments of Baculites species in other biogeographic provinces, as well as
to evaluate ecological influences on population variation and to test hypotheses of lineage evolution. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Cretaceous sedimentary rocks are important sources of oil and gas resources globally and fossil ammonite species of the genus Baculites are an important
group for dating and correlation of Upper Cretaceous strata worldwide. This fossil group is characterized by a relatively simple morphology, however, which makes interpretation of different species challenging. In this paper, the authors present a
new method to distinguish species of Baculites more precisely, using statistical analysis to assess morphological characters in different taxa. The authors show that baculitid species are more widespread than considered previously, with important
implications for the Late Cretaceous time scale and for global correlation of the Upper Cretaceous rocks. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 293404 |
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