Trilobites collected during the past twenty years from the Morgan Creek, Point Peak, and San Saba members of the Wilberns Formation constitute the material basis for this paleontologic and statistical investigation. Eighty-nine species assigned to forty-five genera belong to zones of the upper Franconian and Trempealeauan Stages of the Upper Cambrian Croixan Series. New zonal names are proposed in the interest of a regionally applicable nomenclature. Although none of the zonal nomenclature is identical to that of the Cambrian Correlation Chart, the four zones recognized in central Texas are equivalent to the eight highest zones of the Chart. Stratigraphically lowest is the Franconian Taenicephalus zone, with a locally recognized Parabolinoides subzone at its base; this is equivalent to the Conaspis zone of the Correlation Chart. The Franconian Idahoia zone, with a locally recognized Idahoia lirae subzone at its base, is equivalent to the Ptychaspis subzone of the Ptychaspis-Prosaukia zone of the Correlation Chart. The sparsely fossiliferous Ellipsocephaloides zone corresponds to the Prosaukia subzone of the Ptychaspis-Prosaukia zone of the Chart. Almost two-thirds of the trilobite species occur in the Trempealeauan Saukia zone, which corresponds to the five highest zones of the Correlation Chart; local subzones, in ascending order, are the Saukiella pyrene subzone, the Saukiella junia subzone, the Saukiella serotina subzone, and the Corbinia apopsis subzone. The succession of ptychoparioid trilobite faunas contained within these zones make up the Ptychaspid biomere. The base of the biomere is at the base of the Taenicephalus zone; the top coincides with the lowest occurrence of the Ordovician trilobite fauna. Trilobite families that characterize the Ptychaspid biomere are the Ptychaspididae and the Parabolinoididae. Regression analyses of range data for all Saukia-zone taxa were used to compile a quantitative range chart. Differences between the quantitative chart and my intuitive range chart were not significant. Systematic descriptions include new species of Conaspis, Idiomesus, Euptychaspis, Keithiella, Saukiella, Prosaukia, Calvinella, and Westonaspis?; and one new variety of Orygmaspis. / text

The Hurricane Lentil in the lower part of the Landrum Member of the Cook Mountain Formation can be recognized for 170 miles along strike. This lentil lies at the base of the Landrum Member and is directly above the Wheelock Member. Three key beds, two bentonites and a fossil bed containing Plicatula filamentosa Conrad , are present at most exposures of the Hurricane Lentil. Sedimentary rocks of the Cook Mountain Formation are classified using the four common constituents: quartz, iron oxide, glauconite pellets, and clay. The abundant fossils in the Hurricane Lentil indicate deposition took place on the continental shelf in a quiet, open marine sea with a level bottom. The lower Hurricane Lentil was deposited in a relatively stable sea whereas the upper Hurricane Lentil was deposited in a regressive sea. / text

The salt flats of west Texas are large ephemeral lakes, Pleistocene to Holocene in age. The evaporite material in these lakes represents the sedimentary history of the lake and the surrounding area. Recently, a fossil assemblage was found in the sediments of this deposit. This assemblage includes four species of ostracoda (Limnocvthere staplini, Candona rawsoni, Candona thomasi, and Cvprideis salbrosa), two species of gastropoda, (Amnicola decepta, and Amnicola pilsbrvi), and discovery is significant because this assemblage has not been previously reported, and it provides an opportunity to reconstruct part of the physical and chemical environment of the salt flats during a portion of its history. Autecological comparison of these species indicate that they lived in a shallow, alkaline, brackish water environment. The known paleoclimate of the area, and the sedimentology support this interpretation. / Department of Geology

This paper presents a zonation of the Austin chalk and the Burditt marl, divisions of the Austin group in the Jonah quadrangle, Williamson County, Texas. The Austin chalk consists of the Inoceramus subquadratus Schlüter faunizone, Gryphaea wratheri Stephenson faunizone, Inoceramus undulatoplicatus Roemer faunizone, Hemiaster texanus Roemer faunizone, Exogyra laeviuscula Roemer faunizone, and the Exogyra tigrina Stephenson epibole. The Burditt marl contains the Ostrea centerensis Stephenson faunizone. The Austin-Taylor contact has been traced from the southeastern to the northeastern corner of the area. The relations of the Taylor marl and some of the Terrace gravels are discussed. The outcrop, lithology, and paleontology of the Eagle Ford shale, which underlies the Austin group, are also included. / text

A boulder bed unit in the upper Haymond Formation (Pennsylvanian), generally believed to be olistostromes, is exposed in the eastern Marathon Basin, west Texas. Two localities of this unit (Housetop Mountain and Clark Butte) contain clasts derived from several formations found within the basin, as well as exotic Devonian metamorphic and volcanic rocks. This report describes a third previously unstudied site (Martin Ranch locality) that contains clasts of exotic Middle Cambrian shelf limestones. These limestones provide a key to the Early Paleozoic history of the Marathon region. The boulder beds lie in the upper part of the Haymond Formation. At the Martin Ranch locality they form a zone that is traceable for 6.6 km along strike and is up to 230 m thick. These boulder beds contain interbedded units of massive, unstratified, pebble- to boulder-bearing mudstone, thickly bedded, massive sandstone, lenses of pebbly sandstone, and deformed flysch beds. About 80 percent of the clasts found in the boulder beds at Martin Ranch are chert derived from several basin formations. Unique displaced slabs of bedded chert pebble conglomerate comprise about 10 percent of the clasts. Theses conglomerates were probably derived from upper fan-channel deposits within the lower Haymond Formation. Pennsylvanian limestone clasts redeposited from the basin facies of the Dimple Formation and clasts of exotic, late Middle Cambrian limestones each comprise about 5 percent of the clasts. These Cambrian limestones, older than any formation in the Marathon Basin, contain a fauna characteristic of the seaward edge of the cratonic carbonate shelf. The presence of the Cambrian clasts constrains the location of the North American shelf edge during the Cambrian, placing it at least 120 km southeast of the present day Marathon Basin. Both the Martin Ranch and Housetop Mountain boulder beds are composed mainly of clast-bearing, matrix-supported mudstone which have pebbly sandstone, massive sandstone, and flysch beds interstratified with the mudstone and represent periodic deposition of debris flows, slumps, slides, and turbidites interspersed with normal basin deposition of flysch facies rocks. However, different clast types are found at the two localities. The Martin Ranch locality has clasts of Cambrian limestone and chert pebble conglomerate, the latter up to 90 m in length, that are absent at the other localities. Exotic Pennsylvanian limestone clasts and exotic Devonian metamorphic and volcanic rocks, common at Housetop Mountain, are rare or missing at Martin Ranch. The Clark Butte locality is unique because it lacks the mudstone which dominates the other two localities. Instead, the matrix is composed of a pebbly sandstone and conglomerate associated with thick sandstone beds. The boulder beds at this locality may represent upper fan channels and channel-lag deposits. The turbidites and olistostromes resulted from recycling of the southern edge of the tectonic basin as the advancing Ouachita thrusts uplifted the pre Haymond strata. Most of the clasts were from older basin formations exposed by these faults; however one of these thrusts also uplifted slivers of exotic Middle Cambrian limestone. Earthquakes probably triggered slumps and rock falls off the fault scarps. As the boulders travelled downslope plowing through the slope sediments, they accumulated more material. This combination of slide debris and slope mud turned the slumps and slides into debris flows. Between episodes of debris flows and turbidity currents, normal basin deposition of thinly bedded turbiditic sandstone and pelagic shale occurred. / text

The Leon River, a small-medium river in central Texas, is highly impacted by multiple impoundments, enrichment from agricultural runoff, and decreased dissolved oxygen levels. This degraded river contains sixteen unionid species, two of which are both endemic to the region and candidates for the federal endangered species listing (Quadrula houstonensis and Truncilla macrodon). While there is a short historical record for this river basin and a recent modern survey completed in 2011, zooarchaeological data adds evidence for conservation efforts by increasing the time depth of data available and providing another conservation baseline. Zooarchaeological data for the Leon River is available from the two Late Holocene archaeological sites: 41HM61 and the Belton Lake Assemblages. Data generated from these assemblages describe the prehistoric freshwater mussel community of the Leon River in terms of taxonomic composition and structure. By comparing this zooarchaeological data to the data generated by the longitudinal modern survey of the Leon River, long term changes within the freshwater mussel community can be detected. A conceptual model is constructed to evaluate how robusticity, identifiability, and life history ecology affect unionid taxonomic abundances in zooarchaeological data. This conceptual model functions as an interpretive tool for zooarchaeologists to evaluate forms of equifinality in zooarchaeological assemblages. This thesis determines differences between the late Holocene and modern freshwater community of the Leon River, explores how different alternative mechanisms influence zooarchaeological data, and exemplifies of how zooarchaeological data can be used for conservation biology.

The Lower Permian Admiral Formation redbeds in north-central Texas are famous for their well-studied vertebrate fauna. Taphonomical and paleoecological aspects, however, are inadequately understood. The prerequisite for taphonomical interpretations is an analysis of the depositional environments. Low relief and low regional dip expose extensive paleoslopes in western Archer County. Three major depositional systems may be recognized: a fine-grained meanderbelt, a low sinuosity fine-grained fluvial system, and a tidal flat. The small scale of the sedimentation (average sandstone thickness 1. 5 m) is remarkable. Four types of vertebrate occurrences can be distinguished: Type 1: Mass death bonebeds are situated in a floodbasin facies comprised of gray and red mudstones with abundant Psaronius roots (a swamp-dwelling tree fern) which is associated with the fluvial systems. Such basins were covered by a dense swamp forest with a high diversity of vertebrates. This type is exemplified by the Geraldine Bonebed, which has yielded at least 45 partly articulated skeletons representing 4 genera of tetrapods, and remains of another 8 vertebrate taxa. The bones were found on a layer of fern, seed fern, and conifer foliage and wood. This occurrence was formed by a single catastrophic event, possibly a forest fire, which drove the animals of the swamp forest into a pond, where they died of suffocation and were concentrated into a bonebed by physical processes (wind). Type 2: Lag bonebeds, situated on the landward margin of tidal flat environments, are represented by the Rattlesnake Canyon Bonebed which consists mainly of a calcareous concretion conglomerate, which contains fragmentary bone, serpulid worm colonies (brackish water!), and calamitelean wood. The diversity of forms represented by articulated material is low. The ubiquitous predator Dimetrodon and an amphibian, Trimerorachis, which tolerates brackish water, are common. This type was deposited as lag in a storm washover deposit. Type 3: Ponds (abandoned channels, etc.) which contained a fauna dominated by aquatic forms (the fishes Xenacanthus and Ectosteorachis, and the amphibian Archeria) were gradually filled by fine-grained sediment and organic debris (vertebrates, plants). These oxbow lakes were probably rimmed by stands of Calamites. Four examples are described. Type 4: Single, complete skeletons examplified here by Diadectes are occasionally found in red floodplain mudstones. / text

Not available / text