The Rhizodonts of Blue Beach, Nova Scotia, Canada (Horton Bluff Formation, Tournaisian Age): New Data on Letognathus hardingi, Other Genera Occurrences, and Their Phylogenetic Implications within the Devonian-Carboniferous Faunal Transition

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dc.contributor.advisorAnderson, Jason Scott
dc.contributor.authorHeusinkveld, Holly Tegan
dc.contributor.committeememberJamniczky, Heather
dc.contributor.committeememberTheodor, Jessica Madeleine
dc.contributor.committeememberDutchak, Alex
dc.date2024-11
dc.date.accessioned2024-05-29T16:29:13Z
dc.date.available2024-05-29T16:29:13Z
dc.date.issued2024-05-28
dc.description.abstractTwenty-three Tournaisian-aged fossils from the Horton Bluff Formation of Blue Beach, Nova Scotia, Canada, were identified as consisting mainly of rhizodont material. Collected from the stratigraphic fossil hiatus “Romer’s Gap”, rhizodont specimens in the sample include humeri, skull bones, shoulder bones, a dermopalatine, and a portion of a braincase. The rhizodont genera identified were Letognathus, Strepsodus, and Rhizodus, which demonstrates a greater rhizodont diversity at Blue Beach than previously known. New morphological characters now identifiable to Letognathus from the sample include postparietals with an interdigitated interpostparietal suture, an ossified braincase, and a compact, semicircular humerus. Unlike the highly derived Strepsodus and Rhizodus, Letognathus displays a more equal mix of rhizodont characters that first appeared in Devonian genera and characters typical of derived Carboniferous genera. Letognathus shares the most in common with the Carboniferous genus Barameda, and is placed phylogenetically as a possible sister taxon to Barameda within the Rhizodontidae. The Strepsodus material from the sample consists of two examples of postparietals and a single humerus. The Rhizodus material consists of a scapulocoracoid. The possible cohabitation of Letognathus, Strepsodus, and Rhizodus at Blue Beach parallels the patterns of overlap previously found among Blue Beach actinopterygians and tetrapods, where related taxa with a greater number of ancestral Devonian characters overlapped taxa with more derived Carboniferous morphologies. This trend across families of closely related taxa with unique combinations of typical Devonian and Carboniferous morphologies overlapping in the Early Carboniferous argues against Romer’s initial proposal that the fossils of the layers composing Romer’s Gap would consist largely of intermediate forms between Devonian and Carboniferous morphologies.
dc.identifier.citationHeusinkveld, H. T. (2024). The rhizodonts of Blue Beach, Nova Scotia, Canada (Horton Bluff Formation, Tournaisian Age): new data on Letognathus hardingi, other genera occurrences, and their phylogenetic implications within the Devonian-Carboniferous faunal transition (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1880/118859
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/46456
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisher.facultyGraduate Studies
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgary
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subjectRhizodont
dc.subjectSarcopterygian
dc.subjecttetrapodomorph
dc.subjectLetognathus
dc.subjectRhizodus
dc.subjectStrepsodus
dc.subjectBlue Beach
dc.subjecttetrapod
dc.subjectDevonian
dc.subjectCarboniferous
dc.subjectBarameda
dc.subjectphylogeny
dc.subjectevolution
dc.subjectD-C boundary
dc.subjectRomer's Gap
dc.subjectfaunal transition
dc.subjectNova Scotia geology
dc.subjectRhizodontidae
dc.subjecthardingi
dc.subjectEarly Carboniferous
dc.subjectsarcopterygii
dc.subjectfossil
dc.subjectfish
dc.subjectNova Scotia fossils
dc.subjectHorton Bluff
dc.subjectTournaisian
dc.subject.classificationEducation--Sciences
dc.subject.classificationHistory--Ancient
dc.subject.classificationHistory--Canadian
dc.subject.classificationZoology
dc.subject.classificationGeology
dc.subject.classificationPaleontology
dc.subject.classificationPaleozoology
dc.titleThe Rhizodonts of Blue Beach, Nova Scotia, Canada (Horton Bluff Formation, Tournaisian Age): New Data on Letognathus hardingi, Other Genera Occurrences, and Their Phylogenetic Implications within the Devonian-Carboniferous Faunal Transition
dc.typemaster thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineBiological Sciences
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudentI do not require a thesis withhold – my thesis will have open access and can be viewed and downloaded publicly as soon as possible.
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