Recent inquiry into the nomenclature of several species within Spinocyrtia has led to questions concerning name applicability and validity, particularly whether Delthyris granulosa and Spinocyrtia (Spirifer) granulosa are synonymous. This study utilized two-dimensional outline landmark analysis, a form of geometric morphometric analysis, to evaluate interspecific variation among these species. I took over a thousand photographs of over a hundred specimens of brachiopods belonging to the family Spinocyrtiidae. Ninety-six specimens originated from the Givetian outcrop belt of New York state, three were from northwestern Ohio, there was single Canadian specimen, and there was a single German specimen. The results from these analyses indicate that the mophospaces of Spinocyrtia (Spirifer) congesta, S. (Spirifer) granulosa, and S?. (Spirifer) marcyi are statistically (p < 0.05) distinct from one another.

Placoderms are restricted to the Devonian in the Prague Basin, occuring on localities dated from the Lochkovian to the Givetian. Černá rokle near Kosoř with the Radotin Limestone is the richest placoderm bearing locality. A revision of specimens from collections of the National Museum in Pra- gue confirms occurences of three species of two genera belonging to the pla- coderm order Acanthothoraci: Radotina kosorensis Gross, 1950; Radotina tesselata Gross, 1958 and Kosoraspis peckai Gross, 1959. Genus Holopeta- lichthys was accepted as valid and a diagnosis of H. primus (Barrande, 1872) was amended. Its assignment to higher taxonomic units remains uncertain. Four morphological types of undeterminable specimens classified in the order Arthrodira are defined. Some previously unpublished morphological structures are figured and described: the median dorsal plate of the thoracic armour of R. kosorensis and its relation to the head shield, the cranial cavities and trunk shield plates of R. tesselata, a well preserved neurocranium and scales of K. peckai, the trunk shield and vertebral column of H. primus and large dermal plates of each Arthrodiran morphotype. The placoderm diversity in the Prague Basin was lower compared to ne- ighbouring areas at the beginning of the Devonian (Lochkovian and Pra- gian). Only...

This thesis deals with early vertebrate fossil remains from the Lower Palaeozoic strata of the Barrandian area (Bohemian Massif). It is presented as a compilation of four papers that were published or submitted in scientific peer-reviewed journals with impact factor. All included papers are focused on the most abundant and diverse vertebrate fauna from the Barrandian area - the placoderms. Placodermi are early vertebrates characterized by articulated head and trunk shields composed of dermal bony plates. In the Barrandian area, they occur exclusively in the Devonian of the Prague Basin. The main objectives of the thesis are modern taxonomic revisions of the placoderm taxa from the Prague Basin as well as discussions about trends in their abundance, diversity, and distribution in space and time, taphonomy, and the evolutionary and phylogenetic implications of their morphology. Two characteristic placoderm associations were distinguished. In the Lochkovian and Pragian, members of the group Acanthothoraci dominate the placoderm record. Acanthothoracid placoderms are among the most basal jawed vertebrates and thus a detailed study of their morphology has a great potential to illuminate the relationships and evolutionary patterns among the stem jawed vertebrates. They are most abundant in the...

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<p> The Middle Devonian Dundee Limestones of Southwestern Ontario accumulated in the Michigan and Appalachian Basins, with deposition in part being controlled by the proximity to the Findlay and Algonquin arches. Six lithofacies were recognized in the Dundee Formation during detailed core and outcrop studies . Stratigraphic relations indicate that, prior to deposition of Dundee carbonates, a major regression exposed underlying Detroit River sediments adjacent to the arches. Subsequent transgression deposited reworked sands and shallow shelf, bioclastic limestones in most areas of the adjoining basins while in westernmost regions of the Appalachian Basin Columbus Formation sediments were accumulating adjacent to the Findlay Arch. </p> <p> Transgression became interrupted during middle Dundee time and a thick unit of lagoonal muds was deposited in the Appalachian Basin. A regionally well-developed firmground capping these mudstones indicates that a significant episode of non-deposition ensued. The equivalents of these muds in the Michigan Basin are pulses of coarse, reworked grainstones and rudstones indicating that substrates there were shallower and above wave base. Evidence of subsequent renewed transgression is preserved as middle to outer shelf moderately fossiliferous mudstones and wackestones overlying shallow shelf facies. </p> <p> Many friends, too many to mention here, made my stay at McMaster an enjoyable one. Mac wouldn't have been the same without the numerous challenges and imaginative adventures in which these people were always willing to participate. Francois Brissette, Bruce Willmer, Randy Meecham, Stu Miller, Steve Beneteau and other members of the Rockbusters Football and Aureoles Baseball teams provided continuous entertainment both on and off of the sports field. Their dedication and light-hearted approach allowed me to maintain a respectable degree of sanity throughout my studies. </p> <p> Finally, I would like to thank my family for their continual assistance, encouragement and support provided during the pursuit of my academic endeavours. </p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The evolution of land plant root systems occurred stepwise throughout the Devonian, with the first evidence of complex root systems appearing in the mid-Givetian. This biological innovation provided an enhanced pathway for the transfer of terrestrial phosphorus (P) to the marine system via weathering and erosion. This enhancement is consistent with paleosol records and has led to hypotheses about the causes of marine eutrophication and mass extinctions during the Devonian. To gain insight into the transport of P between terrestrial and marine domains, presented here are geochemical records from a survey of Middle and Late Devonian lacustrine and near lacustrine sequences that span some of these key marine extinction intervals. Root innovation is hypothesized to have enhanced P delivery and results from multiple Devonian sequences from Euramerica show evidence of a net loss of P from terrestrial sources coincident with the appearance of early progymnosperms. Evidence from multiple Middle to Late Devonian sites (from Greenland and northern Scotland/Orkney), reveal a near-identical net loss of P. Nitrogen and Carbon isotopes from a subset of these lakes confirm elevated input of terrestrial plant material concurrent with P perturbations. Terrestrial P input appears to be episodic in nature, suggesting land plant expansion was driven by an external catalyst in the study region. All sites analyzed are temporally proximal to significant marine extinctions, including precise correlation with the Kačák extinction event and the two pulses associated with the Frasnian-Famennian (F/F) mass extinction. The episodic expansion of terrestrial plants appears to be tied to variations in regional and global climate, and in the case of the F/F extinction, also to atmospheric changes associated with large scale volcanism. Using P data presented here as an input into an Earth system model of the coupled C-N-P-O2-S biogeochemical cycles shows that globally scaled riverine phosphorus export during the Frasnian-Famennian mass extinction generates widespread marine anoxia consistent with the geologic record. While timing precludes land plants as an initiating mechanism in the F/F extinction, these results suggest they are implicated in every marine extinction event in the Mid to Late Devonian.