Patrick N. Wyse Jackson

Geological Museums and their Collections: Rich Sources for Historians of Geology

Many millions of geological specimens are contained in geological museums throughout the world. These collections, some of which date back to the sixteenth century, constitute a rich resource for historians of the geological sciences. The utilization of this resource has been uneven, due to a number of factors, including the background of the researcher, and the state of the collections. In the past two decades major strides have been made in the documentation of collections held in British museums, and compendia, including those for collections in other countries, are now available. Geological collections provide quality primary source material, and can shed light on a range of interesting topics including the nature and scope of geological travels, the often complex relationships between geologists and collectors, and the rationale behind the formulation of geological theories by earlier geologists.

Bryozoan fauna from the Mississippian (Visean) of Roque Redonde (Montagne Noire, southern France)

ABSTRACT A bryozoan fauna from the Mississippian (Visean) of Roque Redonde (Montagne Noire, southern France), contains 38 species (12 cystoporates, 2 trepostomes, 6 cryptostomes [rhabdomesines], and 18 fenestrates). Of them 9 are new: Fistulipora tolokonnikovae n. sp., Dybowskiella rotunda n. sp., Dybowskiella piriforme n. sp., Eridopora suarezi n. sp., Volgia deftera n. sp., Cystodictya gallensis n. sp., Megacanthopora enodata n. sp., Fabifenestella macrofenestrata n. sp., and Baculopora redondensis n. sp. Beside them, one new genus with a new species is established: Gorjunopora gallica n. gen., n. sp. Furthermore, 23 species characteristic of the Mississippian of Eurasia and North America were identified. The bryozoan species show various palaeobiogeographic connections. The closest connections are to the Mississippian (Visean) of the British Isles and the Russian Platform. Moreover, some connections to the Mississippian of Germany, Ukraine, Spain, Kuznets Basin, North America and Kazakhstan can be traced. The studied bryozoan assemblage is represented mainly by delicate growth forms and suggests a calm water environment.

Epizoic Bryozoans on Cephalopods Through the Phanerozoic: A Review

Abstract Spatiopora Ulrich, 1882 is a trepostome bryozoan that is found encrusting living orthoconic nautiloids in the Upper Ordovician (Katian) of North America, as do several other bryozoans. These epizoozoan bryozoans are characterized by possessing thin unilaminate zoaria with rows of elongate maculae, which may be monticulate and aligned coaxially to the host growth axis. These develop a distinctive linear shape in response to growing on a conical host, rather than as a response to channelized water flow along the host. Monticules increase in size and spacing adorally until a maximum inter-macular area is reached that results in a decline in surface water flow efficiency, and a new monticular line is inserted. Orthocones normally swam forward at lower velocities that enabled lophophore eversion and feeding, which would have been impossible at the higher speeds reached when the host jetted backwards during escape. Monticules reduced drag and turbulence acting on the orthocones which allowed for more efficient venting of bryozoan macular excurrents. Characteristic elliptical monticule growth continued even after death of the motile host. A Trypanites-bryozoan-orthoconic nautiloid association shows a complex biological and taphonomic relationship between these organisms.Cephalopods have a long geological history ranging from the Cambrian to the Recent (Holland 1987; Benton 1993; Kröger et al. 2011) and have provided substrates for many encrusting skeletobionts (see review in Taylor & Wilson 2003: 28-29) including bryozoans from their appearance in the Ordovician. Cephalopods may be fouled while alive (e.g., Landman et al. 1987; Wyse Jackson et al. in press); on specimens that were necroplanktonic—dead floating shells (Davis et al. 1999; Taylor & Monks 1997); or encrustation may have been post-mortem (e.g., Mapes et al. 2010; Rakociński 2011). The distribution of fossil episkeletozoans (sensu Taylor & Wilson 2002) on their hosts can provide details of lifestyles of the host, their feeding habits as well as those of the encrusting organism, information on taphonomic processes, and as has been postulated recently to aid in our understanding of the post-mortem disperal of shells (Reyment 2008). Settlement of bryozoan larvae on motile benthic or nektonic host substrates occurs much less frequently than on sessile epibenthic hosts or hardgrounds (Taylor 1990). Bryozoan encrustation of motile hosts in the fossil record include those on trilobites (Key et al. 2010), cephalopods (Baird et al. 1989; Wyse Jackson et al. in press), and echinoderms (Schneider 2003). Motile hosts encrusted by modern bryozoans include cephalopods (Landman et al. 1987), sea snakes (Key et al. 1995), king or horseshoe crabs (Key et al. 1996a, 1996b, 2000), decapod crabs (Key et al. 1999), hermit crabs (Balazy & Kuklinski 2013), pycnogonids (Key et al. 2012), isopods (Key & Barnes 1999), and sea turtles (Frazier et aI. 1992). Aside from bryozoans, numerous sessile organisms have encrusted cephalopods: brachiopods (Holland 1971; Gabbott 1999; Evans 2005), cornulitids (Evans 2005), crinoids/pelmatozoans (Prokop & Turek 1983; Evans 2005; Rakociński 2011; Evans et al. 2013), edrioasteroids (Baird et al. 1989), cystoids (Klug & Korn 2001), corals (Marek & Galle 1976; Baird et al. 1989), microconchids (Watkins 1981; Klug & Korn 2001; Evans 2005; Rakociński 2011), stromatoporoids (Ulrich, 1886), the hederelloid Reptaria stolonifera (Baird et al. 1989; Taylor & Wilson 2008), the problematica Vinella radialis (Ulrich 1893), and Sphenothallus, that forms black spots on the surfaces of Ordovician cephalopods from Ohio (Neal & Hannibal 2000). ISSN 2035-7699

Chapter 12 A review of the Early Palaeozoic biogeography of bryozoans

Abstract The palaeogeographical distributions of Early Palaeozoic bryozoan faunas are reviewed. Previous studies are examined and new databases have been assembled of the stratigraphical and geographical distribution of Ordovician and Silurian taxa. Analysis was carried out using cluster analysis based on Jaccard’s coefficient and paired group method, as well as principal coordinate analysis based on Jaccard’s coefficient, to examine the relationships between different localities. Bryozoan faunas increased in diversity throughout the Ordovician peaking with 133 genera during the Katian. In the earliest Ordovician provincialism is difficult to determine, but by the Darriwilian five distinct provinces developed, decreasing to four in the Sandbian. There was a decrease in provinciality throughout the Katian as faunas became less endemic, caused by the reduction of geographical barriers. Following the extinction of many genera at the end of the Ordovician, early Silurian faunas contain remnant taxa. Subsequently fenestrates began to dominate faunas. During the Llandovery bryozoans began to show distinct provincialism, but this declined during the Wenlock, only to re-emerge during the Ludlow. Late Silurian (Pridoli) faunas are sparse but nevertheless show possible division into two provinces.

John Joly (1857–1933) and his determinations of the age of the Earth

Abstract John Joly (1857–1933) was one of Ireland’s most eminent scientists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who made important discoveries in physics, geology and photography. He was also a respected and influential diplomat for Trinity College, Dublin, and various Irish organizations, including the Royal Dublin Society. Measuring the age of the Earth occupied his mind for some considerable time — a problem he was to address using a diverse range of methods. His sodium method of 1899, for which he is best known, was hailed by many as revolutionary, but it was later superseded by other techniques, including the utilization of radiometric dating methodologies. Although Joly himself carried out much research in this area, he never fully accepted the large age estimates that radioactivity yielded. Nevertheless, Joly’s work in geochronology was innovative and important, for it challenged earlier methods of arriving at the Earth’s age, particularly those of Lord Kelvin. Although his findings and conclusions were later discredited, he should be remembered for his valuable contribution to this important and fundamental debate in the geological sciences.Abstract John Joly (1857–1933) was one of Ireland’s most eminent scientists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who made important discoveries in physics, geology and photography. He was also a respected and influential diplomat for Trinity College, Dublin, and various Irish organizations, including the Royal Dublin Society. Measuring the age of the Earth occupied his mind for some considerable time — a problem he was to address using a diverse range of methods. His sodium method of 1899, for which he is best known, was hailed by many as revolutionary, but it was later superseded by other techniques, including the utilization of radiometric dating methodologies. Although Joly himself carried out much research in this area, he never fully accepted the large age estimates that radioactivity yielded. Nevertheless, Joly’s work in geochronology was innovative and important, for it challenged earlier methods of arriving at the Earth’s age, particularly those of Lord Kelvin. Although his findings and conclusions were later discredited, he should be remembered for his valuable contribution to this important and fundamental debate in the geological sciences.

Epizoozoan trepostome bryozoans on nautiloids from the Upper Ordovician (Katian) of the Cincinnati Arch region, U.S.A.: an assessment of growth, form, and water flow dynamics

Abstract Spatiopora Ulrich, 1882 is a trepostome bryozoan that is found encrusting living orthoconic nautiloids in the Upper Ordovician (Katian) of North America, as do several other bryozoans. These epizoozoan bryozoans are characterized by possessing thin unilaminate zoaria with rows of elongate maculae, which may be monticulate and aligned coaxially to the host growth axis. These develop a distinctive linear shape in response to growing on a conical host, rather than as a response to channelized water flow along the host. Monticules increase in size and spacing adorally until a maximum inter-macular area is reached that results in a decline in surface water flow efficiency, and a new monticular line is inserted. Orthocones normally swam forward at lower velocities that enabled lophophore eversion and feeding, which would have been impossible at the higher speeds reached when the host jetted backwards during escape. Monticules reduced drag and turbulence acting on the orthocones which allowed for more efficient venting of bryozoan macular excurrents. Characteristic elliptical monticule growth continued even after death of the motile host. A Trypanites-bryozoan-orthoconic nautiloid association shows a complex biological and taphonomic relationship between these organisms.Cephalopods have a long geological history ranging from the Cambrian to the Recent (Holland 1987; Benton 1993; Kröger et al. 2011) and have provided substrates for many encrusting skeletobionts (see review in Taylor & Wilson 2003: 28-29) including bryozoans from their appearance in the Ordovician. Cephalopods may be fouled while alive (e.g., Landman et al. 1987; Wyse Jackson et al. in press); on specimens that were necroplanktonic—dead floating shells (Davis et al. 1999; Taylor & Monks 1997); or encrustation may have been post-mortem (e.g., Mapes et al. 2010; Rakociński 2011). The distribution of fossil episkeletozoans (sensu Taylor & Wilson 2002) on their hosts can provide details of lifestyles of the host, their feeding habits as well as those of the encrusting organism, information on taphonomic processes, and as has been postulated recently to aid in our understanding of the post-mortem disperal of shells (Reyment 2008). Settlement of bryozoan larvae on motile benthic or nektonic host substrates occurs much less frequently than on sessile epibenthic hosts or hardgrounds (Taylor 1990). Bryozoan encrustation of motile hosts in the fossil record include those on trilobites (Key et al. 2010), cephalopods (Baird et al. 1989; Wyse Jackson et al. in press), and echinoderms (Schneider 2003). Motile hosts encrusted by modern bryozoans include cephalopods (Landman et al. 1987), sea snakes (Key et al. 1995), king or horseshoe crabs (Key et al. 1996a, 1996b, 2000), decapod crabs (Key et al. 1999), hermit crabs (Balazy & Kuklinski 2013), pycnogonids (Key et al. 2012), isopods (Key & Barnes 1999), and sea turtles (Frazier et aI. 1992). Aside from bryozoans, numerous sessile organisms have encrusted cephalopods: brachiopods (Holland 1971; Gabbott 1999; Evans 2005), cornulitids (Evans 2005), crinoids/pelmatozoans (Prokop & Turek 1983; Evans 2005; Rakociński 2011; Evans et al. 2013), edrioasteroids (Baird et al. 1989), cystoids (Klug & Korn 2001), corals (Marek & Galle 1976; Baird et al. 1989), microconchids (Watkins 1981; Klug & Korn 2001; Evans 2005; Rakociński 2011), stromatoporoids (Ulrich, 1886), the hederelloid Reptaria stolonifera (Baird et al. 1989; Taylor & Wilson 2008), the problematica Vinella radialis (Ulrich 1893), and Sphenothallus, that forms black spots on the surfaces of Ordovician cephalopods from Ohio (Neal & Hannibal 2000). ISSN 2035-7699

Stream channel network analysis applied to colony-wide feeding structures in a Permian bryozoan from Greenland

Abstract Colony-wide feeding currents are a common feature of many bryozoan colonies. These feeding currents are centered on excurrent macular chimneys that expel previously filtered water away from the colony surface. In some bryozoans these macular chimneys consist of a branching channel network that converges at a point in the center of the chimney. The bifurcating channels of the maculae are analogous to a stream channel network in a closed basin with centripetal drainage. The classical methods of stream channel network analysis from geomorphology are here used to quantitatively analyze the number and length of macular channels in bryozoans. This approach is applied to a giant branch of the trepostome bryozoan Tabulipora from the Early Permian Kim Fjelde Formation in North Greenland. Its large size allowed 18 serial tangential peels to be made through the 8-mm-thick exozone. The peels intersected two stellate maculae as defined by contiguous exilapores. The lengths of 1460 channels radiating from the maculae were measured and their Horton-Strahler stream order and Shreve magnitude scored. We hypothesize that if fossil bryozoan maculae function as excurrent water chimneys, then they should conform to Hortons laws of stream networks and behave like closed basins with centripetal drainage. Results indicate that the stellate maculae in this bryozoan behaved liked stream channel networks exhibiting landscape maturation and stream capture. They conformed to the Law of Stream Number. They have a Bifurcation Ratio that falls within the range of natural stream channel networks. They showed a pattern opposite that expected by the Law of Stream Lengths in response to behavior characteristic of a centripetal drainage pattern in a closed basin. Thus, the stellate maculae in this bryozoan probably functioned as excurrent water chimneys with the radiating channels serving to efficiently collect the previously filtered water, conducting it to the central chimney for expulsion away from the colony surface.

The role of women in the history of geological studies in Ireland

Abstract During current research being carried out into the role of women in the history of geological study in Ireland, interesting social and cultural factors are emerging. A list of people who contributed to data gathering, and the unravelling of the complexity of Irelands geology would characteristically contain only male names. Yet when one begins to look more closely, important roles were played by women. The story is one of women carrying out many and varied supporting roles, including stone-workers, illustrators, tutors, assistants, collaborators, wives, mothers, and later, curators, cartographers and technicians. From 1950 onwards, women begin to occupy professional roles as geologists, particularly in the Geological Survey of Ireland, but more slowly in academic circles. This paper concentrates on women now deceased, who paved the way for others, and only briefly indicates their legacy with selected examples leading to the present day.

Homeomorphy in Lunostoma, a new Middle Devonian cryptostome bryozoan

A new genus and species of rhabdomesine cryptostome bryozoan, Lunostoma pulchra n. gen. n. sp., is described from the Lower Givetian (Middle Devonian) of the Eifel, Germany. It differs from all previously known rhabdomesines in having crescent-shaped structures (“scuta”) on the proximal sides of the apertures. These scuta resemble the lunaria that characterise cystoporate bryozoans, providing yet another example of homeomorphy in the Bryozoa. The function of scuta is unclear as, in contrast to lunaria, they do not project sufficiently from the apertures to constrain the everting lophophores.KurzfassungEine neue Gattung und Art einer rhabdomesinen cryptostomen Bryozoe wird als Lunostoma pulchra n. gen. n. sp. aus dem unteren Givetium (Mittel-Devon) der Eifel (Rheinisches Schiefergebirge, Deutschland) beschrieben. Morphologisch unterscheidet sie sich von allen bekannten Rhabdomesina durch halbmondförmige Strukturen („Scuta”) an den proximalen Seiten der Aperturen. Diese Scuta ähneln frappant den für cystoporate Bryozoen charakteristischen Lunarien und liefern damit Beispiel für Homeomorphie bei paläozoischen Bryozoen. Die Funktion der Scuta ist nicht klar, anders als bei Lunaria, da sie nicht weit genug aus den Aperturen hinausragen um die Ausstülpung der Lophophoren einzuschränken.

Calendar Scale, Environmental Variation Preserved in the Skeletal Phenotype of a Fossil Bryozoan (Rhombopora blakei n. sp.), from the Mississippian of Ireland

Abstract A single large colony (20 cm) of Rhombopora blakei n. sp. from the Hook Head Formation of Ireland (Tournaisian Stage, Mississippian) permits an analysis of within-colony variation associated with environmental change at a calendar scale (days to decades). Morphometric data for three external characters—apertures spacing along a branch and diagonal to a branch as well as lateral zooecial spacing—were collected as growth series (16–30 generations) from 13 segments within the colony. ANOVA, post-hoc means testing and graphical analysis of standardized data revealed nearest neighbor effects at the zooecial level and non-random distribution of variances across the colony. Parametric tests for sequential nonrandomness revealed cyclic variation through growth transects at three levels (23.3, 9.4 and 5.3 generations). Comparisons to growth rates of modern bryozoans suggests that the longer-term cycles are annual and that the shortest cycles may be related to lunar tidal cycles. The exceptional size and preservation of this single specimen, which is a new species of rhabdomesine Bryozoa, reinforces the importance of collecting individual morphological measurements from randomly selected and widely spaced parts of a colony for taxonomic, evolutionary and ecological applications.