An abundant conodont fauna was recovered from 202 samples taken from the Becscie, Merrimack, and Gun River formations of early Llandovery (Early Silurian) age on Anticosti Island, Québec. From the collection of 22,409 identifiable specimens, 28 species and four associations representing 12 genera and one group of drepanodontiform elements are documented and their stratigraphic ranges established. One new genus, Rexroadus, is established for two species earlier assigned with question to Oulodus. New species described are Icriodella dicrana, Oulodus sigmoideus, Ozarkodina strena, and Pterospathodus? originalis. The fauna is dominated by species of Ozarkodina and Oulodus; many species have a first appearance that is slightly older than elsewhere suggesting that the Anticosti Basin may have been an important evolutionary radiative center in the early Silurian. There is a slow and progressive diversity increase in conodonts through this interval after the initial appearance of many new taxa in the basal Silurian following the mass extinction in the terminal Ordovician. The Anticosti Llandovery sequence represents one of the few highly fossiliferous, continuous successions in the world and a new conodont biozonation based on conodonts for the Llandovery is proposed with the following interval zones in ascending order: Ozarkodina hassi (new), Ozarkodina strena (new) [subdivided into Oulodus jeannae (new) and Oulodus panuarensis (new) subzones], Ozarkodina clavula (new), Ozarkodina aldridgei (new), Pterospathodus celloni, and Pterospathodus amorphognathoides zones.

Latest Permian gastropod faunas are relatively poorly known, limiting our understanding of the behavior of the group during the end-Permian mass extinction. Here we describe an assemblage of silicified microgastropods from the Heshan Formation of Guangxi Province, China, as well as some related Permian gastropods from elsewhere in south China. This is the youngest described Permian gastropod assemblage, and demonstrates that gastropod diversity remained high until the latest Changhsingian stage, immediately before the mass extinction. A total of 73 species are described, including one new family, nine new genera and 51 new species. The new family is the Plicatusidae. New genera are: Naticasinus, Zhonghuaspira, Microlampra, Propupaspira, Laxella, Plicatus, Luoguella, and Ninglangella. The new species are: Bellerophon (B.) yochelsoni, Retispira sinensis, Naticasinus sinus, Peruvispira jucunda, Manzanospira turrita, Porcellia paucituberculata, Microlampra heshanensis, M. orcula, Glyptospira pinna, Anomphalus fusuiensis, Straparella rotella, Holopea bacca, H.? teres, Aclisina multicarinata, Platyzona pulchella, P. nitella, P. luculenta, Goniasma fusuiensis, Straparollus minutus, Naticopsis (N.) shizishanensis, N. (N.) ninglangensis, N. (N.) heshanensis, N. (Jedria) quangxiensis, Trachydomia minuta, Trachyspira quangxiensis, T. heshanensis, Ploceozyga (Plocezyga) yunnanensis, P. (P.) varica, Pseudozygopleura micra, Microptychis charma, Palaeostylus fusuiensis, Soleniscus micidus, S. pactus, Leptoptygma laetus, Propupaspira eleganta, Girtyspira delicata, Ninglangella ninglangensis, Donaldina heshanensis, D. eleganta, D. quinquecarina, Streptacis regularis, S. fragilis, S. pravis, Laxella micra, Plicatus scalaris, P. multifilaris, Luoguispira micra, L. lineata, L. multilinea, Luoguella elegantula, and L. diana.

Well-preserved Late Cambrian radiolarian faunas were recovered from carbonate rocks of the Cow Head Group of the Great Northern Peninsula of the island of Newfoundland, Canada. Several different faunal assemblages were recognized from three strata at Green Point, one from a stratum at Martin Point, and three from strata at Broom Point South in Gros Morne National Park. The faunas contain nine genera, five of which are new, and 33 species, all but two of which are new. The five new genera are Curvechidnina, Grosmorneus, Pararcheoentactinia, Ramuspiculum, and Subechidnina. Most of the genera belong to the families Archeoentactinidae, Echidninidae, Palaeospiculumidae, and Protoentactiniidae; a few taxa have an uncertain taxonomic position. Echidnina, whose taxonomic identity was uncertain, is shown to be a radiolarian.

The diversity of each of these faunas is similar, but the difference in faunal compositions among the faunas examined is distinct. From this analysis, the Late Cambrian strata between Martin Point and Green Point can be more precisely correlated, and the previous correlation has been revised. With the recovery of the conodonts in this study, the provisionally placed boundary between the Franconian and Trempealeauan at Martin Point by earlier researchers is revised and positioned between unit 30 and unit 31.

The biostratigraphic range of the co-occurring conodonts indicates that the youngest fauna described in this paper belongs to the Eoconodontus notchpeakensis Zone of late Trempealeauan age and that the other faunas (from Martin Point and Green Point) are of Franconian age.

A new collection of fossil decapod crustaceans from the Cretaceous Rosario Formation, the Eocene Tepetate Formation and the Oligocene El Cien Formation, Baja California Sur, Mexico, has yielded two new genera and several new species, Amydrocarcinus dantei n. gen. and sp., Levicyclus tepetate n. gen. and sp., Eriosachila bajaensis n. sp., Oregonia spinifera n. sp., Archaeopus mexicanus n. sp., and Necronectes nodosa n. sp. Additionally, new occurrences of the previously described Lophoranina bishopi, Xandaros sternbergi, Icriocarcinus xestos, and Lobonotus mexicanus as well as Dardanus cf. D. mexicanus are reported. As part of ongoing work on global evolutionary and paleobiogeographic patterns within the Decapoda, the work has prompted a review and synthesis of decapod occurrences in the tropical and subtropical Americas including the southern United States, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. As a result of the systematic review, several new combinations are reported herein which include Eriosachila bartholomaeensis (Rathbun, 1919), Lobonotus sandersi (Blow and Manning, 1996; 1998), and Matutites americanus (Rathbun, 1935). Icriocarcinus is transferred to the Goneplacidae, extending the range of that family into the Cretaceous. Most Cretaceous through Miocene tropical and subtropical American taxa appear to have originated within the area and a large number were endemic. Most of the immigrants to the central Americas appear to have evolved along North Atlantic shelves and subsequently dispersed to the Americas, probably via continental shelf routes. In addition, as demonstrated by several previous studies, decapod crustaceans appear to have evolved in numerous middle- and high- latitude areas with subsequent dispersal to lower latitudes, contrary to the long held notion that the tropics are areas of origin with subsequent dispersal to other regions. Low-latitude decapod taxa tend to remain in low-latitude areas. The Maastrichtian and the Eocene appear to have been times of elevated extinctions within the Decapoda; however, the extinction patterns for those two time intervals are very complex.

Thanks to the Linnaean system of Biological Nomenclature systematics these days is an ordered discipline. Debates over specifics still abound, but there is little argument that taxonomy should reflect the current state of our phylogenetic knowledge. However, recent proposals to replace the historically developed and universally utilized Linnaean system of Biological Nomenclature with an alternative “phylogenetic” system of nomenclature (PN; formulated as the draft PhyloCode [http://www.ohiou.edu/phylocode]; e.g., Cantino and de Queiroz, 2000; see Nixon and Carpenter, 2000 for exhaustive citations) are flawed because they are founded on the misconception that Linnaean classification cannot (and therefore currently does not) accurately represent phylogeny. This is not the case—the ranked Linnaean system is a hierarchy, but then again, so is a cladogram and hence the former can mirror the latter. Although implementation of the proposed PhyloCode would result in huge implications within biological systematics in general (Nixon and Carpenter, 2000; Forey, 2001; Schuh, submitted), some workers (e.g., Brochu and Sumrail, 2001) have argued that proposals to implement this new system of “phylogenetic” nomenclature are a “good thing” for paleontology in particular. Since viewpoints contrary to the PhyloCode have already been aired elsewhere (e.g., Dominguez and Wheeler, 1997; Moore, 1998; Benton, 2000; Nixon and Carpenter, 2000; Forey, 2001), my aim here is to highlight a few areas of PN that make it an especially problematic proposal for paleontologists.

Reinterpretations are made of North American Pennsylvanian rostroconchs based on shell form, shell structure, and surface ornamentation. The new family Pseudobigaleaidae, new genera Baiosoma, Hadropipetta, Exalloschema, Oxyprora, and Apotocardium are erected, and the new species Arceodomus angustus and Apotocardium plautum are recognized. Study of growth increments on Apotocardium lanterna (Branson) indicate annual and monthly growth rates and life span.

Thin sections studied provide insights into shell layer structure and thickness and variation in shell form. Characteristics of the protoconch and its relationship to body shell layers are illustrated. Epifaunal elements consisting of worm tubes, inarticulate brachiopods, acrothoracic barnacles, bryozoans, corals, and algae are present, some suggest attachment to the host rostroconch in life position.

The genus Sphaerodinella Keupp and Versteegh, 1989, became obsolete by the assignment of its type S. albatrosiana (Kamptner, 1963) to the genus Calciodinellum Deflandre, 1947. For the single remaining species of Sphaerodinella, which does not fit into the genus Calciodinellum, the new genus Caracomia is proposed, whose type is C. arctica (Gilbert and Clark, 1983) new genus, new combination. Additionally, a new species of Caracomia is described: Caracomia Stella new genus and species. The regional distribution of the two species of Caracomia shows distinct regional preferences: Caracomia arctica is restricted to cold waters of both hemispheres, whereas Caracomia stella as yet has only been described from warmer environments. Thus, C. arctica can be used as a cold water indicator. Comparison of Caracomia with other genera has shown a close relationship to the type of Orthopithonella and exposed a common misinterpretation of this genus. Therefore, the genus Orthopithonella Keupp in Keupp and Mutterlose, 1984, is emended to unquestionably accommodate only the type O. gustafsonii.

Populations of the Upper Ordovician trepostome bryozoan Batostoma jamesi were collected from two different paleoenvironmental settings in the Kope Formation of southeastern Indiana. Within each colony and population, morphologic changes were analyzed during colony growth, or astogeny. Morphological measurements of zooecia, mesozooecia, and acanthostyles display similar patterns of change during colony growth in both populations but magnitudes are generally larger in the high diversity population.

Canonical variates analyses provided multivariate confirmation of univariate character differences found within each population. Statistically significant multivariate morphological differences between growth stages persist even if assignments of colonies to populations are ignored. Results suggest different potentials for altering growth trajectories in different environments with early growth stage flexibility in colonies from lower diversity settings and later-stage flexibility in colonies from higher diversity settings.

Heterochronic changes occur between species populations. Relative to the high-diversity population, the low-diversity population displays the following: 1) progenesis and hypermorphosis for zooecia, reflecting the ability to exist over a broader range of areal densities and surface areas than in populations from high-diversity associations; 2) postdisplacement and progenesis for mesozooecia, producing mature mesozooecial densities earlier in growth and at smaller sizes while the onset of mesozooecial development is delayed; and 3) acceleration, predisplacement, and progenesis for acanthostyles, resulting in a more rapid rate of development, an earlier onset of style development and more styles, and an earlier time of maturation, respectively.

The estimated level of morphological integration is higher in the high diversity population regardless of stage of colony growth. Within populations, integration is stronger during early growth stages in colonies from high diversity settings and during later growth stages in colonies from low diversity settings. Character heritabilities are high in both diversity-level populations, suggesting that these patterns of morphological integration were not the result of non-heritable phenotypic plasticity. Mean heritability is greater in the high diversity population and differs statistically only between the late growth stages of populations. Patterns of morphological integration may result from differing levels of stabilizing selection in different environments. Depending on the timing of selection, these different levels of integration are capable of affecting the outcome of selection on species populations.

A unique radiolarian fauna recovered from the top part of the Changxingian stage in south Guizhou, Southwest China, includes at least nineteen species one of which is new. The fauna is mainly composed of Permian species extensively distributed all over the world, such as Hegleria mammilla (Sheng and Wang, 1985); Ishigaum trifustis De Wever and Caridroit, 1984; Foremanhelena triangula De Wever and Caridroit, 1984; Triplanospongos dekkaensis (Noble and Renne, 1990); Nazarovella gracilis De Wever and Caridroit, 1984; and Nazarovella inflata Sashida and Tonishi, 1986, among others. Besides these species, a new radiolarian assemblage, represented by Copicyntra ziyunensis new species; Copiellintra fontainei (Sashida, 2000); Klaengspongus spinosus Sashida, 2000; and Paroertlispongus? sp., was discovered in South China. The assemblage only occurs in less than 10 m siliceous rock strata under the Permian-Triassic boundary at south Guizhou, Guangxi, and north Sichuan. Although only a few new species appeared during this period, they are very important for understanding both the radiolarian extinction at the end of the Permian and the relation between the Paleozoic and Mesozoic Radiolaria.

Well-preserved Early Silurian radiolarians were recovered from siliceous rock fragments contained in a limestone boulder from the Road River Formation, Yukon River area, east-central Alaska. The radiolarians represent five genera, one of which, Parasecuicollacta, is new, and 17 species, nine of which are new: Secuicollacta magnitesta, S. tatondukensis, S. parvitesta, S. alaskensis, Parasecuicollacta bipola, P. hexactina, P. multispinosa, P. nannoglobosa, and Diparvapila pygmaea. Among the 17 species, 11 belong to the family Rotasphaeridae. The ectopically placed spicule, which is the diagnostic characteristic of the subfamily Secuicollactiniinae within the family Haplentactiniidae, is shown to be one of the primary units, a diagnostic feature of the family Rotasphaeridae. Three species are assigned to the family Haplotaeniatumidae, which is newly established in this paper. The family is characterized by the concentric and spiral arrangement of shell with a proloculus and commonly the presence of a pylome, and by the absence of an internal spicule. Several other taxa are extremely rare and are of uncertain taxonomic position. This fauna is characterized by very plentiful rotasphaerids, whereas all the other radiolarian taxa are very rare.

The Road River fauna is similar to that from the Cherry Spring Chert of Nevada, thought to be late Rhuddanian based on a sparse graptolite fauna, and is very similar to an unreported Early Silurian Canadian Arctic fauna, whose stratigraphic range based on the graptolite fauna is within the early Telychian. Conodonts, chitinozoans, scolecodonts, and graptolites were also recovered from the siliceous rock fragments. Five genera and seven species of chitinozoans, four genera and five species of conodonts, and two uncertain taxa of graptolites were identified. Their biostratigraphy indicates that the Alaskan radiolarian fauna belongs to the upper Aeronian to lower Telychian of the Llandoverian.

Of the 33 caprinid rudist taxa reported from Albian strata in North America, only eighteen can be recognized unequivocally because many of the earlier named species were based on incomplete, altered, and poorly described specimens that do not meet rigorous criteria of modern rudist taxonomy. New data on five older taxa, “Caprina” crassifibra Roemer, 1849; “Caprina” guadalupe Roemer, 1849; “Caprina” occidentalis Conrad, 1855; “Caprina” planata Conrad, 1855, and “Icthyosarcolites” anguis Roemer, 1888, show that these species cannot be compared to current rudist taxa nor identified with certainty and therefore they should not be used in biostratigraphic, paleoecologic, or biogeographic studies. Four other taxa are poorly known and should not be used until the types or new material can be studied. Six taxa are considered here to be junior synonyms. New material collected from Upper Albian strata in West Texas, the type area of Conrad's taxa, can be identified as Kimbleia albrittoni Perkins, 1961; Kimbleia capacis Coogan, 1973; Texicaprina vivari Palmer, 1928; and Mexicaprina cornuta Coogan, 1973. The ranges of these four taxa define three zones within Upper Albian carbonates in central and west Texas.

Coenothyris oweni new species is described from the Lower Member (Upper Anisian-Ladinian) of the Triassic Saharonim Formation (Upper Anisian–Lower Carnian) at Har Gevanim, Makhtesh Ramon, southern Israel. The Saharonim Formation was deposited under normal, calm, shallow marine conditions as part of the ingression of the Saharonim Sea. The presence of Coenothyris along with characteristic conodonts, ostracodes, foraminiferans, bivalves, cephalopods, gastropods, echinoderms and vertebrate remains is 1) indicative of the Sephardic Province; 2) diagnostic of the Middle Triassic series of Israel; and 3) important in differentiating the Sephardic Province from the Germanic Muschelkalk and Tethyan Realm faunas to the north and correlating the Triassic rocks in the Negev.

Seven genera and eight species of lingulate brachiopods are described from the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary beds (Cambrooistodus minutus Conodont Subzone to Rossodus manitouensis Conodont Zone) at the Lawson Cove and Lava Dam North sections, Ibex area, Utah, USA. The fauna includes one new linguloid genus, Wahwahlingula, and four new species, Lingulella? incurvata, Zhanatella utahensis, Conotreta millardensis, and Quadrisonia? lavadamensis. Lingulate brachiopods from this interval are very poorly known from Laurentia, but the recorded fauna is very similar to that described from coeval beds at Malyi Karatau, Kazakhstan, and both areas contain Eurytreta cf. bisecta (Matthew, 1901); E. sublata Popov, 1988; Zhanatella Koneva, 1986; Schizambon Walcott, 1889; and Wahwahlingula. Eurytreta cf. bisecta is also known from the Lower Ordovician of Avalonian Canada, Britain, and Scandinavia.