The editor of the Zoological Record has kindly informed me that the generic name Polysiphonia Finks, 1995, (class Calcarea, order Murrayonida, family Maeandrostiidae) (Finks, 1995, page 4) is preoccupied (Mrs. M. Joan Thorne, personal commun., 1996). I therefore rename it Polysiphonaria.

Fossil sharks are represented primarily by isolated teeth. Teeth are usually used for classification of extinct sharks, but their vertebrae may provide interesting paleoecological and taphonomical information even if not in association with teeth (e.g., Lucas et al., 1985; Gottfried, 1995). In this paper, I describe an isolated centrum of a shark vertebra from the Lower Cretaceous Kiowa Shale in Kansas, housed in the University of Kansas, Museum of Natural History (KUVP), Lawrence. A precise taxonomic assignment for this Kiowa shark is difficult because of its isolated occurrence, lack of large comparative collections of fossil shark vertebrae found in association with teeth, and poorly known morphological variation of fossil shark vertebrae. However, the specimen is noteworthy, because it is the largest Mesozoic shark vertebra known to date.

Two species of the enigmatic alga Chaetocladus, C. ruedemanni (new species) and C. dubius (previously regarded as a graptolite incertae sedis), are described from the Silurian Lockport Group of New York and Ontario, Canada, respectively. A comprehensive investigation reveals that these and other Chaetocladus taxa occur in distinctive Konservat-Lagerstätten in association with other thallophytic algae, annelid worms, and lightly sclerotized arthropods. The sedimentology, taphonomy, and biotic composition of Chaetocladus-bearing deposits indicate that this alga thrived in shallow, stagnant, occasionally storm-agitated marine environments. In these settings, preservation of thallophytic algae and associated soft-bodied animals apparently was facilitated by a combination of obrution, anoxia, and early diagenesis of the burial muds.

The morphology of Chaetocladus corresponds to that characteristic of the green alga order Dasycladales, and it is herein referred to this long-ranging taxon as a representative of a new subtribe (Chaetocladinae, new subtribe) within the tribe Salpingoporelleae (emended herein), family Triploporellaceae (emended herein). This euspondyl, endosporate genus extends the range of the euspondyl dasyclads significantly, from the Early Devonian back to the Middle Ordovician, and bridges an evolutionary gap between early Paleozoic aspondyl, endosporate forms and middle Paleozoic euspondyl, cladosporate forms.

A phylogenetic analysis was conducted to address evolutionary relationships among the earliest members of the Miacidae (one of two early Cenozoic carnivoran families) and to ascertain the position of an ambiguous taxon, “Miacis” jepseni, with respect to the genera Miacis, Uintacyon, Vulpavus, Vassacyon, and Oödectes. The results of this analysis indicate that “Miacis” jepseni should be referred to the genus Oödectes, and both genus and currently included species are rediagnosed. The phylogenetic relationship of Oödectes to other miacids, and relationships among early Eocene miacids more generally, however, are less well resolved. Support is found for sister taxon relationships between Miacis and Vulpavus and between Uintacyon and Vassacyon, and it is suggested that this latter clade is the sister taxon to all other members of Miacidae.

The newly organized Long Island Natural History Museum (LINHM) has assembled a small collection of fossil vertebrates from the Cretaceous of Morocco. Among the remains in this collection are two spinosaurid (Theropoda) teeth and one sauropod tooth that we refer to either the Diplodocidae or Titanosauridae. Because of the scarcity of spinosaurid and Cretaceous sauropod teeth, a short description of the material is presented here. In addition to the dinosaurian remains, the collection includes an unidentified crocodilian tooth and a tooth identified tentatively as that of a pterosaur, which we also describe briefly. Furthermore, there are other fossil reptile teeth from the Ksar es Souk Province in the collections of the LINHM. Some of these may represent groups of reptiles other than those discussed here, but the taxonomic identity of these teeth is still being determined.

Current usage as to the name of the type species of the eurypterid genus Acutiramus Ruedemann, 1935, violates Article 68 of the third edition of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (Ride et al., 1985; hereafter referred to as the Code). The history is recorded here, and the correct citation of the type species is given as the conclusion of this note. The pertinent sections of the Code are quoted for convenience of the reader.

Davydov et al. (1995) recently proposed the Aidaralash Creek section in northern Kazakhstan (Figures 2 and 3) as the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Permian System. The proposed boundary is the level in an evolutionary sequence where Streptognathodus wabaunsensis Gunnell gives rise to a descendent with an isolated node field on the inside of the upper platform surface. This morphotype constitutes a new and distinct species for which we propose the name Streptognathodus isolatus new species.

As the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology prepares for the coming century, the staff of the Paleontological Institute and the boards of advisors have begun the development of PaleoBank, an electronic, relational database that will facilitate the capture of up-to-date, paleontological information. Moving the Treatise project into the electronic age will make the task of the authors less daunting and enable future volumes of the Treatise to be updated in a more timely manner.