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Arctosaurus osborni is known only from an incomplete cervical vertebra from the Upper Triassic Heiberg Formation of Cameron Island, Nunavut, Canada. Re-examination of the unique specimen indicates that it represents an archosauromorph reptile, possibly from the clade Allokotosauria. To date, Arctosaurus osborni represents the sole record of Late Triassic continental tetrapods from Nunavut and the northernmost record of such animals anywhere in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cimolestes Marsh is a North American eutherian mammal primarily known from latest Cretaceous deposits in Alberta, Wyoming, Saskatchewan, and Montana. At present, five species of Cimolestes are considered valid, all Lancian in age; they include one of the largest North American Late Cretaceous therian mammals as well as one of the smallest, a size range far exceeding that within other genera of tribosphenic therians contemporary with Cimolestes, such as the leptictoid eutherian Gypsonictops Simpson or genera of alphadontid or pediomyid marsupials. Moreover, the species of Cimolestes display a disparity of dental morphology in addition to size well in excess of interspecific differences within these genera. Given these considerations, Cimolestes is clearly a grade-taxon, uniting species sharing an adaptively subzalambdodont dentition, but showing divergent specializations within this pattern that are inconsistent with monophyly of its presently included species. To correct these imbalances, this paper limits Cimolestes to Cimolestes incisus Marsh and Cimolestes stirtoni Clemens; Cimolestes magnus Clemens and Russell, Cimolestes cerberoides Lillegraven, and Cimolestes propalaeoryctes Lillegraven are reclassified in the new genera Altacreodus, Ambilestes, and Scollardius, respectively. Altacreodus magnus, having a massive shearing dentition, is reconfirmed as showing a relationship to some Tertiary 'creodonts' not shared by other species of Lancian cimolestids; Ambilestes cerberoides exhibits a distinctive molar wear pattern that emphasized horizontal grinding, not orthal shear; Scollardius propalaeoryctes, the smallest species in this revision and having hyper-faunivorous molars, was not ancestral to Paleogene Palaeoryctidae, as indicated in part by contradictions in premolar number and morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fragment of a right dentary with one postcanine tooth from the Upper Triassic (Rhaetian) Scots Bay Member of the McCoy Brook Formation at Wasson Bluff, Nova Scotia, Canada, represents the first record of the tritylodontid cynodont Oligokyphus from the early Mesozoic of eastern North America. In addition, three dissociated postcranial bones from the same horizon and locality are referable to derived cynodont therapsids. One of these elements, a nearly complete right humerus, can be assigned to Tritylodontidae. Two other bones, an ulna and incomplete ischium, belong to indeterminate derived cynodonts but show no features allowing more precise taxonomic identification. The presence of Oligokyphus in the McCoy Brook Formation provides additional evidence for the remarkably wide geographic distribution of many latest Triassic and Early Jurassic continental tetrapods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Judiceratops tigris is a recently described ceratopsid, collected from sediments of the Upper Cretaceous (middle Campanian) Judith River Formation (JRF) of northern Montana, USA. The current diagnosis for this taxon is tentative, as it is based on four fragmentary cranial specimens that have limited anatomical overlap. Although these four specimens were not found associated, they were all collected from the same localized area (Kennedy Coulee). New observations, interpretations, and reconstructions of J. tigris are presented in this study, based on the original assumption that these specimens represent the same taxon. Based on these findings, J. tigris had elongate postorbital horncores with an autapomorphic ovate (egg-shaped) cross section; squamosals with non-imbricated episquamosals, and an anterolaterally oriented anteriormost episquamosal; a wide medial parietal bar with an autapomorphic meniscus-shaped cross section; an anteroposteriorly wide posterior parietal bar, and, consequently, reduced parietal fenestrae; and at least four small, low-lying epiparietals on each side of the frill. A phylogenetic analysis incorporating the revised diagnosis of J. tigris supports the previous referral of this taxon to Chasmosaurinae, but missing anatomy prevents an understanding of how J. tigris is related to other chasmosaurines. Judiceratops tigris is retained here as a distinct taxon, and, hence, the oldest known chasmosaurine, but it has more in common with other chasmosaurines than was previously thought. Further fossil collecting in the JRF of Montana may produce more complete specimens of J. tigris and provide a means of testing the new reconstructions presented here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Fayum Depression of Egypt has produced a great diversity of fossil material, including marine and freshwater fishes. In contrast to the Eocene formations of the Fayum, the Oligocene Jbel Qatrani Formation has been more or less consistently considered to be deposited in a freshwater environment; however, the ichthyofauna indicates a more complex picture. Cenozoic fishes have been convincingly used to interpret the palaeoenvironment in which sediments were deposited. Based on the elasmobranch and osteichthyan faunas of the Jbel Qatrani Formation, we interpret that this formation was not deposited entirely in fresh waters, but had some marine influence, particularly in the lower part of the formation. The mixture of freshwater elements, such as polypterids and alestids, with brackish and marine elements, including myliobatid stingrays, in the Quarry E site suggests a local palaeoenvironment that was very close to the shoreline, in a less protected area, or under more seasonal influence than the rest of the sites in the formation. Additionally, the early Oligocene elasmobranch fishes from Quarry E have a strong biogeographic relationship with sites in Oman and Pakistan, in the eastern Tethys, representing a restricted fauna possibly limited in distribution by cooling global temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Palaeoryctidae are a group of small-bodied, likely insectivorous mammals known principally from the Paleocene and early Eocene (from approximately 65 to 53 Ma) of North America. Here we report on a new palaeoryctid from the early Eocene (early Wasatchian (Wa3) North American Land Mammal Age) Main Body of the Wasatch Formation, Washakie Basin, near Bitter Creek station in southwestern Wyoming, USA. Acerorcytes dulcis gen. et sp. nov. is unique among palaeoryctids in having a double-rooted P2 with a small anterior cusp, P3 with pronounced para- and metastylar cusps and a reduced but conspicuous metacone, P4 with a weakly developed metacone and an anteroposteriorly compressed protocone, and M1-2 with deep ectoflexus and a sharp metastylar blade. A phylogenetic analysis based on 32 dental characters of the nine known North American palaeoryctid species, including Aceroryctes dulcis, recovered eight equally parsimonious cladograms. Similar to prior studies, the analysis suggests that the genus Palaeoryctes is non-monophyletic, with Palaeoryctes cruoris and Aaptoryctes ivyi closely related. Aceroryctes dulcis is grouped with Ottoryctes winkleri and positioned in a more inclusive clade with Eoryctes melanus; the remaining palaeoryctid taxa, including Lainoryctes youzwyshyni, are part of an unresolved polytomy. These new findings indicate that early Eocene palaeoryctids were more diverse than previously thought, with genus richness during the early Eocene at least as great as that during the middle Paleocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Articulated specimens of jawed fishes, and assemblages of disarticulated elements that can be assigned to a single biological species, are extremely rare from pre-Devonian deposits. The acanthodian species Ischnacanthus? scheii Spjeldnaes is based on a monospecific assemblage, comprising fin spines, dentigerous jaw bone fragments and scales, from the ?Siluro-Devonian boundary beds of the Devon Island Formation in central west Ellesmere Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Nunavut. A new examination of the type material, in particular by scanning electron microscopy and thin sectioning of scales, shows that the species is a porosiform poracanthodid that is now assigned to Radioporacanthodes scheii comb. nov. Scales of the same species are also recognized from the upper Pridoli of Cornwallis Island and the ?Pridoli or Lochkovian of north Greenland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian) formations in the Kyzylkum Desert of Uzbekistan, especially the Bissekty Formation at Dzharakuduk, have yielded a great diversity of continental vertebrates, including dinosaurs. Underwater screening of the sandy matrix has recovered many dinosaurian teeth. Here we describe and illustrate two types of enigmatic theropod teeth that are referable to Paronychodon and Richardoestesia, respectively. Both of these tooth taxa are well known from the Late Cretaceous of North America and possibly represent stages in the development of the teeth of various paravian theropods. Confirmation of this hypothesis awaits discovery of more complete jaws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The osteology of the holotype and referred specimens of the saurolophine hadrosaurid, , from the lower Two Medicine Formation of Montana (USA), is described in detail. With an estimated early Campanian (Late Cretaceous) age, this dinosaur is one of the oldest known hadrosaurids. shows several autapomorphies, including dentary tooth crowns, with an apicobasal length/mesiodistal width ratio of 1.7-2.2, a single median carina, and large marginal denticles in sections of the dental battery; deep and oval depression on the posteroventral premaxillary surface; and, in the context of Hadrosauridae, a shallow lacrimal process of the rostral process of the jugal. Furthermore, differs from and in having a broadly arcuate anterolateral oral margin of the premaxilla, a posterior margin of the narial fenestra that is wider than the dorsoventral depth of the proximal region of the narial bar, with a nasal crest that rises above the level of the frontals (in adults) and is located above the posterior margin of the narial fenestra, and wide and shallow posteroventral margin of the rostral process of the jugal, among other characters. This study confirmed a previous hypothesis supporting as the sister taxon to a clade composed of the other species of . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tyrannosaurid tooth measurements have been shown to be a powerful tool for systematic analyses, as well as for studies on function and evolution of theropod dentition. In this analysis, a variable not previously addressed in depth is added to the tyrannosaurid data set. The angle between the anterior and posterior carinae can be difficult to measure consistently and a method is hereby proposed through the use of a digitizer. Five tyrannosaurid genera were analyzed: , , , , and . Only in situ data were used, and therefore some of the taxa had a limited amount of information available for this analysis. The measurements were analyzed through multivariate analyses using Paleontological Statistics (PAST), version 2.06. The analyses included principal component analyses (PCAs), discriminant analyses (DAs), and canonical variates analyses (CVAs). The results of these analyses revealed that the angle between carinae contributes significantly to the variation in the tyrannosaurid tooth data set. Additionally, this variable showed a strong correlation to tooth function (and, consequently, to tooth families), rather than tooth size. The variation observed between taxa at this stage seems insufficient for systematic purposes, however additional in situ data would help improve the effectiveness of this tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vertebrates preserved in calcareous concretions collected from Silurian marginal-marine deposits near Nerepis, southern New Brunswick include agnathan thelodonts, a heterostracan, and possibly an anaspid, as well as spines and scales from an acanthodian (the only jawed fish remains). Several incomplete specimens of acanthodians, all determined as the same taxon nov. gen. et sp., are described based on material identified in several museum collections. The fish-bearing nodules are from the Silurian Cunningham Creek Formation, which has been dated from ?late Llandovery (Telychian) - Ludlow (Ludlovian). The new species is only the second undisputed pre-Devonian acanthodian taxon known from articulated, although incomplete, specimens. has robust flank scales with a smooth crown bearing short subparallel ridges along the anterior edge, plus flatter scales with a crown formed of elongate, curved, areal-growth ridges, anterior to the pectoral region. The anterior dorsal fin spine is long, slightly curved and bears up to seven smooth longitudinal ridges of varying width on each side. The perichondrally ossified scapula is thin-walled and probably has a U-shaped cross section. 'Dentition' cones and small denticles are preserved in the branchial or pharyngeal region. Although elements indisputably identifiable as dentigerous jaw bones were not found in the specimens, N. denisoni appears most closely related to the Early Devonian ischnacanthiform and is tentatively assigned to the family Acritolepidae Valiukevičius and Burrow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Features paleontologist Robert Lynn Carroll, with emphasis on his contributions and achievements in the field. Personal background; Career in paleontology; Influence on the study of vertebrate evolution; Awards received as a scientist and teacher.

Camelid remains are known from several Quaternary palaeontological localities in Alberta, yet most specimens are undescribed in the literature. Specimens reported here comprise a large sample of the known camelid record from the province and provide further insight into the record of Quaternary megafauna of western Canada. Remains from the Edmonton area include specimens pre- and post-dating the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), whereas remains from the Vauxhall area are post-LGM. A metapodial fragment of a giant camel originally described as Titanotylopus from the Edmonton area is likely from earlier in the Pleistocene or late Pliocene. Camelid remains are not overly abundant in Alberta, but are widely distributed, having been recovered from several sites across the province. A new radiocarbon date of 11 280 ± 40 14C years BP on a radioulna of Camelops cf. C. hesternus represents only the fourth direct age assessment of a Quaternary camelid from Alberta. Radiocarbon data may suggest linkages to patterns of extirpation observed in camelid populations from northern Canada, followed by recolonization following deglaciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe early Eocene (Wasatchian) occurrences of the isectolophid Homogalax, tapiroids Heptodon posticus, Heptodon cf. H. posticus, and Heptodon sp., as well as early middle Eocene (Bridgerian) fossils of the brontothere Palaeosyops from localities in the Margaret Formation of the Eureka Sound Group on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Arctic Canada. Their occurrence on Ellesmere Island considerably extends the geographic range of these taxa, previously known from mid-latitude localities in British Columbia (only Heptodon), the Western Interior of the United States, and Asia ( Homogalax, Heptodon, and Palaeosyops). We also place the fossil localities near Bay Fiord on central Ellesmere Island into a refined lithostratigraphic framework based upon data from three measured stratigraphic sections. Our stratigraphic data confirm the presence of two, stratigraphically distinct fossil assemblages - a late Wasatchian-aged lower assemblage and a Bridgerian-aged upper assemblage that were previously hypothesized by others based on faunal differences - that are separated by a 478 m thick stratigraphic gap that appears to lack fossil vertebrates. From a paleoenvironmental perspective, occurrence of the tapiroid Heptodon in the Eocene Arctic corroborates an hypothesis put forward by others that tapiroids are proxies for densely forested habitats, although they were adapted to a range of temperatures including near (or at) freezing temperatures of Eocene Arctic winters. Further, Arctic occurrences of tapiroids and brontotheres imply that these typical mid-latitude ungulate mammals were adapted to Arctic environments, thereby increasing the probability of Trans-Beringian dispersal during early and middle Eocene time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new tribotherian mammal, Tirotherium aptum gen. et sp. nov., is described from the late Santonian to early Campanian upper Milk River Formation of Verdigris Coulee, southern Alberta, Canada. The new mammal is known only from isolated teeth, five upper and three lower molars. The upper molars represent two or possibly three pre-ultimate loci and are marked by reduction and loss of the stylar shelf anteriorly, loss of the stylocone, a paracone that is larger than the metacone, weakly developed conules, a low, small protocone, and specialized postvallum single-rank shear. The lower molars probably represent two pre-ultimate loci and are characterized by an anteriorly positioned paraconid, trenchant paracristid, small, posterolingual metaconid, a distal metacristid, broadly open trigonid angle, and a short, basined talonid in which the hypoconulid is closer to the entoconid than to the hypoconid. The molars of Tirotherium most closely resemble those of Picopsis Fox, 1980, a tribotherian that also occurs in the upper Milk River Formation, but the molars of Tirotherium are significantly larger than those of Picopsis. Nonetheless, Tirotherium aptum is best classified in the Picopsidae, a boreosphenidan family of tiny mammalian faunivores of uncertain relationships to other tribotherians, and displaying a unique mosaic of primitive and derived characters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until recently, caenagnathids were a family of oviraptorosaurs represented only by fragmentary material. As such, caenagnathid biology has never been studied in depth. A well-preserved mandible provides new information on the anatomy and dietary habits of Chirostenotes. The mandible is edentulous, has a completely fused symphysis, with sharp occlusal margins and complex lingual surfaces. Finite element analysis shows that the lingual ridges are reinforced. This suggests that they had a function in food processing. These and other features suggest adaptations for an efficient shearing mechanism, and the overall morphology is poorly adapted for durophagous behaviour. Comparisons with three groups with convergently similar mandibles, especially dicynodonts, indicate caenagnathids were capable of handling an herbivorous diet. Here, an omnivorous diet is proposed for Chirostenotes, including folivory and small prey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new Early Triassic coelacanth, Belemnocerca prolata, gen. et sp. nov., is described as a new member of the family Laugiidae. Although only one incomplete specimen is known, much can be deduced about its evolutionary relationships. In particular, the new coelacanth is most similar to one member of its family, Laugia groenlandica, in the asymmetry (dorsal lobe longer than ventral) and the gradually tapering shape of its caudal fin, though it differs in caudal fin ray count and anal fin position as well as in the size and shape of the supplementary lobe. Belemnocerca prolata is the westernmost occurrence of the family Laugiidae and only member of this family known to inhabit Panthalassa, west of the supercontinent Pangaea. The family Laugiidae has a temporal range from the Early Triassic to the Late Jurassic, and its members have been described from both Greenland and Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A parsimony analysis of the distribution of 408 characters in 73 taxa of Cretaceous eutherians and related taxa places three species of Paranyctoides, the Asiatic P. quadrans and the North American P. sternbergi and P. maleficus, into a monophyletic taxon supported by three unambiguous synapomorphies. In this analysis P. quadrans has three autapomorphies, but in the analysis using combined terminal taxon for the entire sample of North American Paranyctoides two of these autapomorphies (development of stylar cusps C and D on upper molars) disappeared because these characters are also variably present in the North American sample. The remaining autapomorphy of P. quadrans, m3 shorter than m2, is known from a single specimen and also may be affected by individual variation. The North American sample of Paranyctoides cannot be clearly separated into distinct species on morphological or morphometric grounds and is considered as representing a single species, P. sternbergi Fox, 1979 (= P. maleficus Fox, 1984, syn. nov.). It differs from the Asiatic P. quadrans (Nesov, 1993) only in having a sharp lingual ridge on p5 and m3 longer than m2. Paranyctoides is the sister taxon to Zhelestidae; this clade is supported by four unambiguous synapomorphies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning in 1962 and extending to the present, Richard C. Fox and colleagues have named 87 species of fossil vertebrates (1 fish, 4 amphibians, 2 choristoderes, 12 lizards, 1 crocodile, 1 dinosaur, 2 'pelycosaurs', 2 non-mammalian therapsids, and 62 mammals) and numerous new supraspecific taxa. Virtually all of these species continue to be accepted, although the higher-level assignments of several have been altered. The vast majority of the named species were founded on specimens, collected during the mid-1960s to early 2000s by field parties under Fox's direction, from the Late Cretaceous (late Santonian to late Maastrichtian) and Paleocene of Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, and that are housed at the University of Alberta Laboratory for Vertebrate Paleontology. Here we present ( i) an annotated list of all fossil vertebrate species named by Richard Fox between 1962 and 2012, ( ii) updated information on the stratigraphic nomenclature and age estimates for the eight localities in Alberta that yielded holotypes for all the Cretaceous mammal species named by Richard Fox from that province, and ( iii) new photographs for the holotypes of the one non-mammalian therapsid and 43 Late Cretaceous and Paleocene mammal species named by Richard Fox before 1995. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synonymy of the ankylosaurid dinosaur Scolosaurus with Euoplocephalus has been widely accepted since the 1970s. However, Scolosaurus cutleri exhibits differences which separate it from Euoplocephalus tutus and Dyoplosaurus acutosquameus. Although the holotype of Euoplocephalus is fragmentary, several other specimens can be reliably referred to this taxon and thus used for comparison. Scolosaurus differs from Euoplocephalus in cervical half-ring, osteoderm, and forelimb morphology. Scolosaurus differs from Dyoplosaurus primarily in pelvic morphology and osteoderm shape. Recognition of Scolosaurus as a valid taxon adds to the growing concept that the Upper Cretaceous ankylosaurid fauna of North America was more diverse than previously thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machairaspis, a genus of the Osteostraci, an extinct clade of jawless vertebrates, has been reported from localities in Spitsbergen, Norway, Podolia (Ukraine), and Prince of Wales Island (Nunavut, Canada). A new species of Machairaspis, described here from the Delorme Formation at the MOTH locality, extends the geographic range of this genus to the Mackenzie Mountains. Machairaspis serrata sp. nov. is known from a very small headshield and a fragment of an even smaller individual. The two specimens share distinctive, dorsally pointed serrations on the posterior margin of the exceptionally tall dorsal spine of the headshield. The new species can also be differentiated from other species of Machairaspis by characteristic rows of denticles along the margin of the headshield and is represented by much smaller individuals than are known for previously described species in the genus. Differences in the proportions of the cephalic spine illustrate allometric increase in relative spine height during growth, as previously documented for the related genus Superciliaspis. Machairaspis is here included with Scolenaspis in the subfamily Scolenaspidinae, sister to the subfamily Zenaspidinae in the family Zenaspididae. The presence of Machairaspis at MOTH is an additional similarity with Early Devonian fauna of Spitsbergen and is consistent with the Lochkovian (Early Devonian) age that has been proposed previously for the MOTH locality and with the suggestion that Spitsbergen represents part of the Laurentia terrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miocene sediments of southern Saskatchewan have long been known for the mammalian fauna they have produced, but little or nothing has been reported of the associated fish material. Recent examination of this material collected over half a century ago has revealed the presence of a walleye fish. Walleyes and other members of the family Percidae had previously been thought to have arrived in North America as late as the Pleistocene, and only in the last few years has evidence been found demonstrating their existence in North America in the Pliocene. The Pliocene material, from Arctic Canada, indicated that percids may have invaded North America from Europe during the late Tertiary via the Bering Isthmus. The material presented here shows that in fact percids were already in more southern areas of Canada about 10 million years prior to the Arctic walleye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A diverse and prolific record of polar dinosaurs comes from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian) sediments of the Prince Creek Formation exposed on Alaska's North Slope. Previous assignment of basal ornithopod material from this formation has been based solely on teeth, which have either been referred to 'hypsilophodontid' indet. or Here, we re-examine this material and describe several new specimens, including five isolated premaxillary teeth and three cheek teeth. The premaxillary teeth are most similar to those of , whereas the cheek teeth are more similar to its sister taxon , for which premaxillary teeth are unknown. Referral of this new material to Thescelosaurus would represent the oldest occurrence of this taxon and considerably extend its stratigraphic range. A more likely possibility is that the premaxillary teeth are referable to Parksosaurus, an interpretation that is more parsimonious from a stratigraphic perspective. Intriguingly, one cheek tooth previously referred to as 'hypsilophodontid' cannot be referred to either Thescelosaurus or Parksosaurus. Previously, faunal comparisons of the Prince Creek Formation have largely been made with non-contemporaneous formations, including the Campanian-aged Judith River and Aguja formations, or to the latest Maastrichtian Hell Creek Formation. On the basis of age and faunal similarities, a more appropriate comparison should be made with coeval rocks of the Horseshoe Canyon. This study expands our knowledge of Cretaceous ornithischian diversity at polar paleolatitudes and underscores the importance of small, rare, or easily misidentified fossils in paleoecological studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foreyclupea loonensis, gen. et sp. nov., is described from the early-middle Albian Loon River Formation of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The only specimen of the new species was originally described as a part of an enigmatic taxon Erichalcis arcta in 1975, which was assigned to the Clupeomorpha. Since then, E. arcta has proven to be a composite taxon, made up of clupeomorph and non-clupeomorph specimens. The non-clupeomorph material was redescribed as a Euteleostei incertae sedis and retained the species name. Described herein is the fossil clupeomorph specimen originally assigned to Erichalcis arcta. As in other members of the superorder Clupeomorpha, the ventral margin of the body in the specimen is covered with spiny scutes, and the supratemporal commissural sensory canal passes through the parietals. Along with these diagnostic characters, the new taxon also shows primitive traits of the basal members of the group, including a medioparietal skull roof, unfused halves of the neural spines of the abdominal vertebrae, and no evidence of presence of the recessus lateralis. When included in a phylogenetic analysis of the Early Cretaceous clupeomorphs, the new species forms a clade with the Early Cretaceous clupeomorphs from Mexico and Brazil, Ranulfoichthys dorsonudum and Scutatuspinosus itapagipensis, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fossil record of the earliest primates, purgatoriid plesiadapiforms, has become increasingly well documented during the past two decades, but their dietary preferences remain poorly understood. While the available evidence, which consists mostly of isolated teeth and incomplete jaws with teeth, suggests that purgatoriids were insectivorous to omnivorous, we describe here a new species of Purgatorius, Purgatorius pinecreeensis sp. nov., that extends the range of purgatoriid dental disparity toward greater omnivory than had been known before. Purgatorius pinecreeensis sp. nov., from the early Paleocene (Puercan) Ravenscrag Formation of southwestern Saskatchewan, differs from other species of Purgatorius in having slightly lower crowned teeth with a lower trigonid relative to talonid, blunter and more swollen major cusps, more transverse lower molar paracristids, and m3 with a more robustly developed posterior lobe. Taken together, these specializations enhanced the capacity for crushing and grinding at the expense of orthal shear, and represent the first instance of a modest degree of bunodonty in the family. The discovery of P. pinecreeensis sp. nov., along with other recently reported basal plesiadapiforms from the Puercan and Torrejonian of the northern Western Interior, lends additional support to the notion of a significant primate radiation soon after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the Jurassic was a period of high diversity in ichthyosaurs, only a small number of specimens have been recorded from Canada to date. We describe here a new occurrence of an ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from a shallow marine depositional environment within the Bowser Basin of northern British Columbia. Based on vertebral diameters and the size of the humerus, the ichthyosaur was relatively large compared to other contemporaneous forms, yet possessed teeth that were small for its body size. As well, the height to length ratio of the preserved vertebrae suggests it may have had a more elongate, less regionalized body shape. Although indeterminate at a generic level, the presence of Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs in nearshore waters of northwestern North America further demonstrates their cosmopolitan distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rich elasmobranch assemblage was recovered from the early Eocene (Ypresian) Fishburne Formation in a limestone quarry at Jamestown, Berkeley County, South Carolina, USA. Reported herein are 22 species belonging to 8 orders, at least 15 families, and 21 genera. It includes the first occurrence of Protoginglymostoma from North America. Many of the reported species have large palaeobiogeographical ranges and inhabited waters on both sides of the Atlantic, whereas others were endemic to the east coast of North America. The paucity of sizeable dentition from several of the larger species in this assemblage, and the apparent absence of relatively large macrophagous species found in contemporaneous deposits elsewhere, suggests the Jamestown site may represent a nursery ground and refuge for young and smaller individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The holotype and only known specimen of Bathygnathus borealis is a partial snout with maxillary dentition of a presumed sphenacodontid from the Lower Permian (Artinskian 283-290 Ma) redbeds of Prince Edward Island, Canada. Due to its incomplete nature, assessment of the taxon's systematic position within a cladistic analysis had never been performed. However, recent recognition of the phylogenetic utility of tooth characters in sphenacodontids now allows for a modern phylogenetic evaluation of B. borealis. Results show that B. borealis is the sister taxon of Dimetrodon grandis, which is supported by dental characters: crowns with mesial and distal denticles and roots elongate, lacking plicidentine. An autapomorphy of B. borealis is the large facial exposure of the septomaxilla. As Bathygnathus has priority over Dimetrodon in the scientific literature, we suggest a reversal of precedence is required to preserve the familiar name Dimetrodon and to maintain universality, thus recognizing the new species Dimetrodon borealis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Frenchman and Ravenscrag formations of southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada, record an apparently continuous sequence of nonmarine clastic sediments across the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary. Extensive exposures of these fossil-rich sediments occur in the Frenchman River Valley, near the towns of Ravenscrag, Eastend, and Shaunavon, and have been a focus of study since the 1970s. Despite this long history of investigation, a comprehensive account of the geographic and stratigraphic positions of many of the significant fossil localities has yet to be published. Given this state of affairs, the goals of this paper are to ( i) document the geographic locations, stratigraphic positions, and lithologies of 11 key vertebrate microfossil localities, including several new localities that have been recently discovered, and ( ii) provide an update on the status of these fossil localities, the majority of which have not been sampled in the last 20 years. Four fossil localities are known from the lower Paleocene Ravenscrag Formation, all of which are Puercan in age: Rav W-1 (Pu2), French Fry (Pu1), Croc Pot (?Pu2), and Pine Cree (?Pu2). With the exception of Rav W-1, which has since been lost as a consequence of quarry reclamation, all of the Ravenscrag Formation localities remain accessible and continue to be productive. Seven vertebrate microfossil localities from the upper Maastrichtian Frenchman Formation are reported here, all of which are Lancian in age: Long Fall, Fr-1, By Gar Gap, Hairpin, Wounded Knee, Wounded C, and Gryde. With the exception of Long Fall and Wounded Knee, which have been lost through reclamation or construction, all of the Frenchman Formation localities are accessible and remain productive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Grande Prairie region (Alberta, Canada) includes some of the richest Cretaceous fossil sites in North America, including the recently described bonebed of Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai at the Pipestone Creek locality. Here we describe a new multi-taxa, ceratopsian-dominated bonebed from the region, integrating taphonomic, radioisotopic, and paleoecological data. The bonebed can be traced for 107 m and has been excavated over an area of 40 m2 with an average bone density of 30-50 elements/m2. The new bonebed occurs within Unit 4 of the upper Campanian Wapiti Formation, and 40Ar/39Ar dating provides an age of 71.89 ± 0.14 Ma, thus making the site equivalent in age to the upper Drumheller Member of the lower Horseshoe Canyon Formation of central Alberta. About 88% of vertebrate remains are ceratopsian, and dromaeosaurid, hadrosaurid, troodontid, and tyrannosaurid remains have also been identified. Juvenile material, although scarce, indicates an assemblage of individuals of different ages. Specimens showed no strong preferred two-dimensional orientation but are clearly sorted vertically. Taphonomic and sedimentological interpretation support a complex pre-burial history of preserved elements as well as a depositional setting characterized by persistent waterlogged conditions as those typical of large oxbow lakes or marshy/swampy areas, as well as lacustrine settings within an alluvial plain. Being located more than 450 km inland from the paleo-coastline, the new bonebed represents one of the farthest-known inland occurrence of centrosaurines in North America, further supporting the presence of large aggregations of ceratopsian far from the coastal lowlands of the Western Interior Seaway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pandemonium hibernalis sp. nov., from a middle? Puercan (earliest Paleocene) locality in the upper Scollard Formation, Wintering Hills, southern Alberta, represents the second discovered occurrence of the enigmatic plesiadapiform primate Pandemonium Van Valen and the first from Canada. The holotype of Pandemonium hibernalis is the only known specimen of Pandemonium documented by multiple teeth from a single individual. Pandemonium hibernalis closely resembles the type species Pandemonium dis from Purgatory Hill, middle-late Puercan, Tullock Formation, Montana, but differs in having wider, more bunodont lower molar crowns and a more expanded posterior talonid lobe of m3, specializations suggesting enhanced capacity for crushing and grinding of soft food materials during mastication. Pandemonium hibernalis joins other recent discoveries in Alberta and elsewhere in the North American Western Interior in documenting a moderate radiation of basal plesiadapiforms that evolved unexpectedly early during primate evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The holotype of Saurornitholestes robustus (SMP VP-1955) from the upper Kirtland Formation (De-na-zin Member), originally identified as a dromaeosaurid, is here re-identified as an indeterminate troodontid theropod. The frontal has no diagnostic dromaeosaurid characters, but is shown to have several features unique to troodontids among deinonychosaurs, including the shallow lateral wall defining the fossae for the olfactory system, the exclusion of the supratemporal fossa from the dorsal surface of the frontal, and a raised orbital rim. The size and morphology of SMP VP-1955 is also consistent with better-known troodontid material from the late Campanian of Alberta, and as preserved, the Kirtland specimen is indistinguishable from comparable Alberta material. The revised identification of SMP VP-1955 provides the first non-dental skeletal record of a troodontid from the Kirtland Formation, and a rare record of this clade from the Kirtlandian land-vertebrate age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent survey of the middle Cenomanian Dunvegan Formation along the Peace River, Alberta, has yielded a partial skull of a large acipenseriform fish. The fossil was from an animal approximately 5 m in length, based on comparisons with living relatives. Though incomplete, this represents an important record of mid-Cretaceous fish from northern North America, as formations of this age are virtually unexplored in northern regions. This fossil is the oldest acipenserid from North America, and one of the most northerly known. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arrhinoceratops brachyops is a poorly understood chasmosaurine ceratopsid from the Upper Cretaceous Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Alberta, previously described on the basis of only a single skull. Here, we report on a second specimen attributable to this species, including a relatively complete skull, syncervical, and partial left forelimb. This second specimen clarifies aspects of morphology not visible in the holotype, and also elucidates variation in A. brachyops. The species is distinguished by a square-shaped triangular process of the premaxilla, a steeply inclined triturating surface of the predentary, and a triangular nasal horncore in horizontal section. The dentary is also distinctive in bearing a bony lateral ridge similar to that of Anchiceratops ornatus, but more strongly developed. Phylogenetic analysis cannot resolve the relationships of Arrhinoceratops beyond the level of Chasmosaurinae, owing to both missing data and conflicting characters. However, we do find some support for a deep split within Chasmosaurinae, contrary to conventional topologies. We also report on other fragmentary specimens plausibly attributable to A. brachyops that suggest a minimum age range of approximately 750 ka for this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bear third metatarsal was discovered in Champlain Sea deposits at the Saint-Nicolas site, Quebec. It is identified morphologically probably as a brown bear ( Ursus arctos) based on the combination of morphology and ancient DNA. It is the first evidence of bears from Champlain Sea deposits. This bone was radiocarbon dated by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) to 9880 ± 35 BP (radiocarbon years BP, taken as 1950) - close to the end of the Champlain Sea phase in eastern North America. The specimen is considered in relation to other North American Quaternary brown bear remains, the dispersal history of the species, and the known Champlain Sea fauna from Saint-Nicolas, as well as stratigraphy at the site and paleoenvironment. Four major conclusions summarize the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the skull roof anatomy of PRPRC 2007.08.81, a new specimen of late Olenekian (Spathian) ichthyopterygian from the Vega-Phroso Siltstone Member of the Sulphur Mountain Formation of British Columbia, Canada. Based on the presence of a well-developed anterolateral prefrontal process, parietal that is deeply excavated along its posteromedial margin, and skull roof sutural patterns, PRPRC 2007.08.81 closely resembles other Olenekian forms such as Utatsusaurus, Grippia, Chaohusaurus, and Gulosaurus (a new taxon recently described from British Columbia, Canada). However, due to their shared apomorphic supratemporal terrace morphology, PRPRC 2007.08.81 is identified as Utatsusaurus sp. With the only other known conclusive Utatsusaurus material retrieved from the Osawa Formation (Lower Triassic) of Japan, the broad palaeogeographic distribution of this taxon suggests a radiation event for Ichthyopterygia occurring prior to the latter part of the Olenekian. However, despite this inference, the palaeogeographic origin of Ichthyopterygia continues to be unclear; only the acquisition and interpretation of additional chronologically early ichthyopterygian material will resolve the early evolutionary history of this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first known occurrence of helmeted muskox in the Late Wisconsinan (ca. 16 000-11 000 radiocarbon years BP) of Alberta is recorded and described. 14C dating places the specimen at 10 980 ± 80 radiocarbon years BP (uncorrected). The distribution of the species is mapped, the widespread distribution implying that these animals probably occupied diverse habitats. Evidence from Wally's Beach, including associated fauna and floral remains and eolian deposits, indicates a dry windswept steppe-grassland with intermittent patches of low woody shrubs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myledaphus bipartitus is a Late Cretaceous (75 Ma) freshwater guitarfish, commonly represented by teeth and vertebral centra. The species was first described in 1876, but until now, very little has been known about its ecology and life history. We analyzed the age and growth using 117 fossilized centra (74 hemisectioned) from the Oldman and Dinosaur Park formations of southern Alberta. The resulting estimated maximum age was 16 years. Radial distance (RD) at the estimated asymptotic growth was calculated, and average RD at birth and 3 years were compared with two extant marine species of Rhinobatos ( R. productus and R. rhinobatos). Birth ring size ranged from 0.9 to 1.8 mm RD. At age three, centrum RD was between 2.8 and 4.6 mm RD for M. bipartitus and significantly less than R. productus and R. rhinobatos (5.0-6.6 mm RD). Myledaphus approached 'asymptotic' growth at 7.8 mm RD in the growth equation. The growth trajectory of Myledaphus had a similar slope to the Rhinobatos species, but with significantly smaller centrum RD. Rhinobatos rhinobatos also outlived Myledaphus by 8 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-resolution biostratigraphic analysis of 287 dinosaurian macrofossils and 138 bonebeds in the Edmonton Group (Upper Cretaceous) of southern Alberta provides evidence for at least three dinosaurian assemblage zones in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation (HCFm). From bottom to top the zones comprise unique assemblages of ornithischians and are named as follows: (1) Edmontosaurus regalis - Pachyrhinosaurus canadensis (lower zone); (2) Hypacrosaurus altispinus - Saurolophus osborni (middle zone); and (3) Eotriceratops xerinsularis (upper zone). Whereas the lower and middle zones are well defined and based on abundant specimens, the validity of the uppermost zone ( E. xerinsularis) is tentative because it is based on a single specimen and the absence of dinosaur taxa from lower in section. The transition from the lower to the middle zone coincides with the replacement of a warm-and-wet saturated deltaic setting by a cooler, coastal-plain landscape, characterized by seasonal rainfall and better-drained substrates. Whereas changes in rainfall and substrate drainage appear to have influenced the faunal change, changes in mean annual temperature and proximity to shoreline appear to have had little influence on faunal change. We speculate that the faunal change between the middle and upper zones also resulted from a change in climate, with ornithischian dinosaurs responding to the re-establishment of wetter-and-warmer climates and poorly-drained substrates. Compared with the shorter-duration and climatically-consistent dinosaurian assemblage zones in the older Dinosaur Park Formation of southern Alberta, HCFm assemblage zones record long-term morphological stasis in dinosaurs. Furthermore, the coincidence of faunal and paleoenvironmental changes in the HCFm suggest climate-change-driven dinosaur migrations into and out of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the known record of Mesozoic eutherian mammals has been significantly enriched in recent years, early eutherian evolution is still not well understood. Among the more controversial of Mesozoic eutherians is Paranyctoides Fox, which was described in 1979 from the Judithian Dinosaur Park Formation, Alberta, Canada. It is a rare taxon and therefore has been identified in only a few other North American Late Cretaceous local faunas since. Within the past decade, dental and gnathic remains discovered in Central Asia have also been referred to Paranyctoides, thereby expanding the geographic range of the genus substantially and making it the only Late Cretaceous eutherian ostensibly occurring in both continents. As a result of our detailed study of Paranyctoides, however, we find that the Central Asian species lack the diagnostic characters of Paranyctoides and must be referred to other taxa. We conclude that this genus was limited to North America, ranging from Aquilan to Lancian time, and accordingly we recognize as valid only the following species: Paranyctoides sternbergi (Judithian, Alberta), P. maleficus (Aquilan, Alberta), Paranyctoides Wahweap sp. A and sp. B (Judithian, Utah), Paranyctoides Kaiparowits sp. A and sp. B (Judithian, Utah). Another purported species of Paranyctoides, P. megakeros, from the Lancian of Wyoming, is a junior synonym of Alostera saskatchewanensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The original hypodigm of the controversial mid-Cretaceous Moroccan dinosaur Sigilmassasaurus brevicollis is redescribed, and the diagnosis of the taxon is revised. Unambiguously referred material is restricted to cervical and anterior dorsal vertebrae sharing apomorphies with the holotype. A newly recognized diagnostic character of Sigilmassasaurus is the absence of anterior and posterior interzygapophyseal laminae of the neural arch, so that the neural spine directly meets the dorsal margin of the neural canal. A phylogenetic analysis supports the inclusion of Sigilmassasaurus in Tetanurae but not in Carcharodontosauridae. Sigilmassasaurus is distinct from all other theropods known from comparable material and is thus retained as a valid taxon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its discovery in 2000, the Iharkút fossil locality in the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) Csehbánya Formation of western Hungary has yielded a taxonomically diverse assemblage of terrestrial and freshwater vertebrates that continue to provide insights into the diversity, paleobiogeography, and paleoecology of Late Cretaceous vertebrates in Europe. Albanerpetontidae, an extinct group of superficially salamander-like amphibians that were widespread across Laurasia during the latter part of the Mesozoic, are represented at Iharkút by 16 fragmentary jaws. Here we describe and figure these specimens as Albanerpetontidae genus and species indeterminate. Based on the age of the Iharkút locality, several premaxillary features, the known distribution (late Early Cretaceous - late Pliocene) of the type genus Albanerpeton, and an unusually large dentary specimen, we suggest that the Iharkút albanerpetontid may pertain to a previously unrecognized species of Albanerpeton, but verification of that must await the recovery of more diagnostically informative specimens, such as frontals and more nearly complete premaxillae. The Iharkút lissamphibian assemblage contains a mixture of taxa with Laurasian (the albanerpetontid and a discoglossid anuran) and Gondwanan (a neobatrachian anuran) affinities. Intriguing higher level differences are evident among Late Cretaceous Laurasian assemblages; for example, urodeles are scarce or absent (as at Iharkút) in Europe, whereas albanerpetontids are scarce in Middle Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although mammals of Paleocene age are well known from Alberta, their record is largely restricted to one lithological unit, the Paskapoo Formation (a record that includes mammals from the Cochrane area erroneously attributed to the Porcupine Hills Formation). We report here the first occurrence of Paleocene mammals from the Porcupine Hills Formation at exposures near the western edge of the city of Calgary. The assemblage, termed the Bearspaw local fauna, documents a diversity of multituberculate and eutherian mammals, including new species of the pentacodontid Aphronorus bearspawensis sp. nov., the mixodectid Eudaemonema bohachae sp. nov., the hyopsodontid Promioclaenus thnetus sp. nov., and a new genus and species of multituberculate ( Alopocosmodon hadrus gen. et sp. nov.) tentatively referred to the Microcosmodontidae. The Bearspaw local fauna also details the first Canadian occurrences of several taxa, including Ptilodus wyomingensis, Aphronorus fraudator, Bryanictis microlestes, Elpidophorus minor, and possibly Goniacodon. Preliminary biostratigraphic analyses suggest that the Bearspaw local fauna is middle Torrejonian (To2) in age, correlating most closely with near-coeval Gidley Quarry of Montana and Rock Bench Quarry of Wyoming. In addition to improving the depauperate record of Torrejonian mammals in western Canada, the new fauna is important in documenting a mammal assemblage from a lithological unit that is thought to have been deposited in semi-arid conditions, rather than the wetter and more humid conditions of the Paskapoo Formation. Further, the Bearspaw localities, along with several other recently discovered localities in the Calgary and Cochrane areas, closely bracket the 27n-26r chron boundary and as such will be important in detailing the Torrejonian-Tiffanian transition in western Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

gen. et sp. nov. is the southernmost diagnostic basal hadrosauroid in the Americas. The holotype and referred material of this taxon came from Santonian strata in the Michoacán State, southwestern Mexico. is diagnosed on the basis of a combination of dental, axial, and appendicular characters, including the following: at least two teeth exposed on the occlusal plane of the dentary and maxilla; seven sacral vertebrae; tall neural spines of caudal vertebrae; supraacetabular process long; and short and trapezoidal (in lateral view) postacetabular process. It differs from other hadrosauroids in having an ilium with extreme ventral deflection of the preacetabular process. Maximum parsimony cladistic analysis placed as a closely related outgroup to Hadrosauridae. The occurrence of in the Santonian of North America may be explained as a dispersal event from Asia to North America that occurred no later than the Albian or, alternatively, as a vicariant event of a most recent common ancestor widespread in both landmasses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dinosaurs and other terrestrial vertebrates are poorly documented in the Mesozoic of the Canadian polar region. Here, we provide a complete review of the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) vertebrate fauna of the Bonnet Plume Formation in the northeastern Yukon Territory, Canada, which includes the description of the first newly collected dinosaur bones from this unit in almost half a century. Previously reported fragmentary dinosaur remains collected in the early 1960's pertain to an indeterminate hadrosaurid. New material includes a poorly preserved forelimb bone and a pedal phalanx. These new remains pertain to at least one species of non-hadrosaurid ornithischian dinosaur, and the humerus is tentatively referred to a small-bodied basal ornithopod. The new vertebrate fossils from the Bonnet Plume Formation provide further evidence of vertebrates from this unit. However, directed field surveys in 2008 and 2009 suggest that vertebrate fossils are not abundant. A review of the known localities of terrestrial Mesozoic vertebrates from the Canadian Arctic indicate that it had a relatively diverse community of terrestrial vertebrates, including dinosaurs, during the Late Cretaceous, but emphasizes our limited knowledge of the Mesozoic Arctic and considerable potential for future exploration and discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few fossil birds and non-avian dinosaurs are known from Mesozoic sediments bordering the eastern margin of the Pacific Ocean. Here, we describe additional remains of Late Cretaceous birds from a deep-water marine turbidite sequence of the Northumberland Formation exposed on Hornby Island, British Columbia. The bones described here are referable (based on hypothesized autapomorphies) to the Cretaceous avian lineages Enantiornithes and Ornithurae and fall into at least two size classes within either lineage. This suggests the presence of multiple taxa occurring within the Northumberland Formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant work has gone into describing Ice Age faunas from Alberta, but relatively little work has been dedicated to understanding the actual structure of Quaternary faunal assemblages in the province. Development of such a data set is necessary to fully understand differences in faunal assemblages that existed before and after the last glacial maximum, and may eventually provide an important historical perspective for understanding the impact of large-scale ecosystem disturbance. Muskoxen fossils from central Alberta were examined to differentiate specimens of and . Those remains, along with other fossils of Pleistocene megafauna collected from gravel deposits near Edmonton, were used to examine patterns of relative abundance from both pre- and postglacial maximum time periods. Relative abundance for genera of Pleistocene megafauna was calculated using the number of individual specimens (NISP) from 11 individual localities (i.e., gravel pits) in central Alberta. Preglacial localities with statistically significant numbers of specimens (n ≥ 30) are dominated by horse (). Mammoth () and bison () are common, but other megafauna, such as Jefferson's Ground Sloth () and Yesterday's Camel (), are comparatively rare. Current data for the postglacial fauna indicate a shift in which Bison becomes the most abundant large herbivore on the landscape, a pattern observed in other parts of North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macelognathus vagans was described by O.C. Marsh in 1884, based on a mandibular symphysis from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Wyoming. Often considered a dinosaur but later tentatively referred to the Crocodylia, its phylogenetic identity has until now been enigmatic. New material of this species from the Morrison Formation of western Colorado demonstrates its affinities with basal crocodylomorphs commonly grouped together as the Sphenosuchia, which are characterized by a gracile postcranial skeleton with erect limb posture. Macelognathus shares features with Kayentasuchus from the Lower Jurassic Kayenta Formation of Arizona and Hallopus, which may be from the Morrison Formation of eastern Colorado. The new material constitutes the youngest definitive occurrence of a sphenosuchian, previously known from the Late Triassic to the Middle or Late? Jurassic. Macelognathus vagans a été décrit par O.C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]