The abundance and diversity of marine phytoplankton and the geologic timing of its major innovations and extinctions show a broad but inverse relationship to stages of terrestrial plant evolution. Successively, the first appearance of land plants, and the later major increases in global live terrestrial biomass and dead biomass in the form of plant litter, peat, coal, and soil humus, increased the retention on land of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, and decreased the amount of these nutrients that was transported by rivers to the seas. Each major increase in terrestrial nutrient retention resulted in extensive changes in the marine ecosystem, as it adapted to the new conditions. From its time of origin in the early Paleozoic, the terrestrial biota figuratively occupied the position at the head of the table, and only the unutilized nutrient excess trickled down to the oceanic phytoplankton and its dependent food web.

Stromatoporoids are the major fossil faunal element of the Upper Limestone Member of the Keyser Formation in an outcrop at Mustoe, Virginia. The member is divided into four subunits at Mustoe, in ascending order: a bioherm, two biostromes, and a laminated micritic subunit. Stromatoporoids are found in all subunits, and they decrease in quantity upward. Nine species are described in three genera: Plexodictyon cf. P. waparksi Stearn, Parallelostroma typicum (Rosen), P. kaugatomicum (Riabinin), P. barretti (Girty), P. cf. P. barretti, P. keyserense n. sp., P. longicolumnum n. sp., P. multicolumnum n. sp., and Densastroma pexisum (Yavorsky). With the exception of P. barretti, a Lower Devonian stromatoporoid, the species of stromatoporids found at Mustoe have been known only from Silurian rocks in other areas.

Representatives of the Ingelarellidae are described from the marine Permian sequences of the Perth, Carnarvon, Canning and Bonaparte Gulf basins of Western Australia. The subfamily Ingelarellinae Campbell (1959) is raised to family status and the new subfamily Notospiriferinae is proposed; content of the Ingelarellidae is reviewed. New taxa described are Tomiopsis notoplicatus n. sp., T. woodwardi n. sp., T. rarus n. sp., T. pauciplicatus n. sp., T. teicherti n. sp., T. globosus n. sp., T. balgoensis n. sp. and T. hardmani n. sp. Additional material from Western Australia belonging to Tomiopsis and possibly Fredericksia is briefly described. Tomiopsis harringtoni n. sp. is described from the southern hills of Buenos Aires (eastern Argentina).

Fourteen new species and six new genera of the molluscan class Monoplacophora are described from the Upper Cambrian Potosi and Eminence formations and the Lower Ordovician Gasconade Formation of the Ozark Uplift of Missouri and some new biostratigraphic horizons are introduced. A new superfamily, the Hypseloconellacea nom. trans. Knight, 1956, and a new family, the Shelbyoceridae, are named. The genus Proplina is represented by five new species: P. inflatus, P. suttoni from the Cambrian Potosi Formation, P. arcua from the Cambrian Eminence Formation and P. meramecensis and P. sibeliusi from the Lower Ordovician Gasconade Formation. A new genus and species in the subfamily Proplininae, Ozarkplina meramecensis, is described from the Upper Cambrian Eminence Formation. Four new monoplacophoran genera in the superfamily Hypseloconellacea and their species are described, including: Cambrioconus expansus, Orthoconus striatus, Cornuella parva from the Eminence Formation, and Gasconadeoconus ponderosa, G. waynesvillensis, G. expansus from the Gasconade Formation. A new genus in the new family Shelbyoceridae, Archeoconus missourensis, is described from the Eminence Formation and a new species of Shelbyoceras, S. bigpineyensis, is described from the Gasconade Formation.

“Chiton” carbonarius Stevens, 1858, is reassigned as the type species to Glaphurochiton Raymond, 1910. This species evolved from an unknown Mississippian ancestor, and spread rapidly into the Midcontinent region, Eastern Interior, and Appalachian basins during the Morrowan. Glaphurochiton carbonarius served as the root stock for development of several species: G. concinnus (Richardson) during the Desmoinesian and G. subcircularis n. sp. during the Virgilian in the Eastern Interior basin and G. elimatus n. sp. in the Appalachian basin and possibly G.? riddlei (Frederickson) in the Midcontinent region during the Missourian.

Glaphurochiton is believed to have been essentially restricted to a mud bottom based upon its occurrence and relative abundance. Commonly the only taxon present, often abundantly, in black and gray shales, Glaphurochiton is rare to absent in limestones, algal limestones, reefs, and shales with an abundance of crustose calcareous algae. The latter lithologies commonly support a diverse polyplacophoran fauna essentially lacking Glaphurochiton.

In southwestern Baja California Norte a new species of Early Tertiary Tethyan gastropod, Velates, V. vizcainoensis n. sp., occurs with a previously unknown intertidal molluscan fauna suggestive of an unprotected coastline of probable Paleocene age. Comparison of Velates vizcainoensis n. sp. to other forms previously assigned to Velates from southwestern North America suggests that “Nerita” cuneata Gabb of Late Cretaceous age probably belongs in Neritina (Dostia), as do N. (D.) aff. N. (D.) cuneata and N. (D.) escondita n. sp.

Velates is probably derived from typical Otostoma and is an early Tertiary genus. Velates californicus Vokes, although originally described as being from the Llajas Formation of middle Eocene age, is from the upper Santa Susana Formation and probably is of late Paleocene age at its type locality.

Two other neritid gastropods are present in the fauna with Velates vizcainoensis; namely, Corsania (Januncia) Janus n. subgen., n. sp. and Nerita (Theliostyla) n. sp.(?). Corsania Vidal, 1917, is a genus distinct from Otostoma and ranges from Early Cretaceous to Paleocene. Januncia n. subgen. has a Tethyan distribution and ranges from Maastrichtian through Paleocene.

A flat, thin, platelike operculum from the Antelope Valley Limestone of central Nevada fits the aperture of the shell of Palliseria robusta; abundance of these shells at the locality where the operculum occurs further supports its association with P. robusta. The operculum shows no evidence of spiral growth; its inner surface has one muscle prong. Palliseria shells are present in Nevada in enormous numbers, but opercula are known from only three localities. Because these platelike opercula are less robust than the coiled shells, most opercula may have been destroyed by wave and current movements after death of the animals.

Cellana ampla n. sp. from late Eocene rocks in Oregon is the first New World record of a genus and family heretofore considered to have radiated in Australia and the mid-Pacific. Re-examination of some other Eocene limpets from the Pacific Northwest reveals that species previously assigned to Acmaea belong in Patelloida and Siphonaria. Thus, all three major components of the modern Australian limpet guild were present in the late Eocene of western North America along a coastline occupied today by acmaeid limpet guilds. Re-examination of a large Pliocene ‘Patella’ from South America shows the shell structure of a Cellana and constitutes a second documentation of a large nacellid limpet in the New World Tertiary.

Although the taxonomy of modern limpets is founded on anatomical characters, shell structure characters are sufficient to identify genera and families directly in the fossil record. Re-evaluation and reclassification of fossil limpets using shell structure contributes not only to a better understanding of the phylogeny of major limpet groups but also provides a powerful tool for elucidating the evolutionary, biogeographic, and ecologic development of the complexly structured limpet guilds of differing taxonomic composition that dominate rocky intertidal habitats throughout the world.

This paper documents 22 species of lower Carboniferous bivalves (Visean) from the Ceshui Formation (Datang Stage) of Guangdong Province, South China. Among these, the genus Glyptoconcha and the species Glyptoconcha elegans, Palaeoneilo guangdongensis, and Neocypricardinia simplex are new. This study enriches the early Carboniferous bivalve record and provides information for biostratigraphic subdivision of the lower Carboniferous of South China.

Styliolina obtusa (Hall, 1879), only known from specimens on two slabs, is placed in synonymy with S. fissurella (Hall, 1843), a ubiquitous fossil in western New York. Styliolina spica (Hall, 1888) is known only from the holotype. This individual is about three times larger than specimens of S. fissurella (Hall); it is removed from the genus. “S.” spica is based on the broken apical end of a calcareous worm tube and is similar to Coleolus. Both of these poorly known taxa were described from different intervals in the Wanakah Shale Member of the Ludlowville Formation near Buffalo, New York.

This is the first report of styliolines in the Angola Shale Member of the West Falls Formation in western New York. These specimens are of late Frasnian age and are the youngest individuals known from the Appalachian Region. This upward extension of range places the extinction of styliolines in eastern North America more in accord with their time of extinction in Europe. Nowakiids have also been found in the younger Hanover Shale Member, in the upper part of the Java Formation, also of late Frasnian age. These are the youngest known nowakiids from the Appalachians. Within the limits of preservation, the external characters and wall structure of the Angola styliolines are comparable with those of older specimens. The associated rare small annulated nowakiids and homotcenids have a laminated wall structure fundamentally different from that of the styliolines.

A new trachyleberid ostracode genus, Kaesleria, is proposed for seven species from the Upper Cretaceous of Saudi Arabia: Kaesleria bilirata (Al-Furaih, 1980), K. biventrilirata n. sp., K. convexa n. sp., K. faceta n. sp., K. falcata n. sp., K. trahea (Al-Furaih, 1980), and K. undulata (Al-Furaih, 1980). Species of this genus are short ranging, relatively abundant, and very useful stratigraphically in Saudi Arabia. Kaesleria bilirata and K. trahea are particularly good markers of the top of the Maastrichtian, because their last occurrences are at the extreme top of it.

A well-preserved and locally abundant crinoid fauna has been discovered in the lower part of the Champlainian (Middle Ordovician) Glenhaven Member of the Guttenberg Formation in the Upper Mississippi Valley region. The material consists of the dicyclic inadunates Cupulocrinus levorsoni n. sp., C. jewetti (E. Billings) and monocyclic camerate Pycnocrinus gerki n. sp.

Eight Early Silurian inadunate crinoids are described. These include: a pisocrinid, genus and species undetermined; (?)Myelodactylus sp.; Kanabinocrinus thyaros n. gen., n. sp.; Euspirocrinus heliktos n. sp.; (?)Euspirocrinus sp.; Eoparisocrinus siluricus n. comb. (n. gen.); Dendrocrinus daytonensis n. sp.; and dendrocrinid, genus and species undetermined. Parisocrinus siluricus, Parisocrinus mulletensis, and Euspirocrinus obconicus are all reassigned to Eoparisocrinus. Parisocrinus is restricted to members of Devonian and Mississippian age. The genus Parisocrinus is discussed, and its type species P. perplexus is illustrated.

Pisocrinid, genus and species undetermined, (?)Myelodactylus sp., and Kanabinocrinus thyaros represent the oldest member of the family in which each belongs. The phylogenetic relationships of these and other taxa are discussed.

A low diversity fauna of microscopic crinoids from the Kinderhookian (Mississippian) McCraney Limestone at Seehorn Hollow, western Illinois, is described and illustrated by stereomicrographs. The crinoids include first record of the camerate crinoid genus Hexacrinites (H. mississippiensis n. sp.) above the Devonian. The other three taxa are all inadunates and include the monocyclic microcrinoid Allagecrinus mccraneyensis n. sp., which has up to 14 arms, and two dicyclic poteriocrinoids, Hypselocrinus maccabei (Miller and Gurley, 1894) and an indeterminate genus of the Scytalocrinidae.

Actinopterygian vertebral centra are more common in the Pennsylvanian and Early Permian of central North America than was previously known. The oldest record dates from the Early Carboniferous of England. Stratigraphic occurrence, co-occurring vertebrate fauna, histology, and external morphology contradict a previous interpretation as centra of “holosteans.” The centra are assigned here to Palaeoniscoidea indet. Besides centra in haplolepids, these are the only known actinopterygian centra from the Paleozoic. The so-called caudal centra in Pygopterus are the bases of hypurals.

Dinnebitodon amarali, a new genus and species of Tritylodontidae, is described from the Early Jurassic Kayenta Formation of northeastern Arizona. It is distinguished from Kayentatherium wellesi by the possession of three (rather than one) upper incisors and upper postcanine teeth with two (rather than three) lingual cusps.

A lower molar of a new species of rodent, Prosciurus? shantungensis, from the subsurface of eastern China adds to the diversity of the known Asian prosciurine aplodontids and increases the likelihood that aplodontids were widespread in Eurasia during the Oligocene. This form is structurally close to the North American prosciurine aplodontids, especially Prosciurus relictus from the middle Oligocene. The metaconid is strongly compressed and reduced in height, a condition partially developed in P. relictus but here more extreme. Height of the mesoconid and the degree of lophodonty are more advanced than in North American species of Prosciurus. P.? shantungensis differs from the prosciurine-like lower dentitions from Kazakhstan and Mongolia described by Argyropulo (1939) and Kowalski (1974) in crest development and in details of the cusp morphology. Types of the Asian prosciurine or presumed prosciurine species are upper dentitions for which associated lower dentitions are unknown, yet the slope of the crests in Prosciurus lohiculus is too low to match the occlusal surface in P.? shantungensis and the degree of lophodonty in P. arboraptus is less than would be expected for the upper dentition of the Shantung form.

The Cretaceous miospore Microreticulatisporites sacalii (Deák and Combaz) n. comb. occurs in the Dakota Formation of Iowa and the lower Tuscaloosa Group of Louisiana and Mississippi. These occurrences represent the first reported from North America. The presence of the species in mid-Cretaceous strata of North America is consistent with the upper Albian to Cenomanian interval from which it has been recorded in Europe. Review of the morphology of these spores and the systematics of the genus Vadaszisporites, to which the species originally was assigned, require transfer of the species and suppression of Vadaszisporites as a junior synonym of Microreticulatisporites Knox emend. Potonié and Kremp, 1954.

Radiolaria have been recovered in acid residues from late Middle Cambrian strata in western Utah. Although the first Cambrian radiolaria were described by Nazarov (1973) from the Batenevskij Mountains of eastern Kazakhstan in the Soviet Union, radiolaria have not been reported from the Cambrian of North America. Except for the Kazakhstan specimens, the oldest known radiolaria are from the Lower Ordovician of western Spitsbergen (Fortey and Holdsworth, 1971). In North America only two accounts of Ordovician assemblages have been reported from southwestern Newfoundland and eastern Nevada (Bergström, 1974; Dunham and Murphy, 1976).