Preface

Madison Avenue has been using the think tank or Brain storming approach for decades in the solution of difficult problems. Although the discussion of the same or similar problems by specialists in different disciplines works equally as well in science, the technique has not been in wide use. The symposium can stimulate this type of cross-fertilization of ideas and is gaining popularity, especially in Quaternary studies

Evolutionary Trends of Chiropteran Dentitions

The paleontologist\u27s obsession with teeth may be a cause for wonder to the neo-mammalogist accustomed to utilizing knowledge of habits as well as the whole suite of physical characters when evaluating an animal. The occasional more-or-less complete fossil skeleton is most welcome, but more often only isolated skeletal elements are recovered. Teeth being constructed of relatively hard and resistant material are more readily preserved and usually reflect dietary habits and relationships better than other isolated elements. Horizontal classification faces a real possibility that two groups with a common ancestor have greatly diverged in their dietary habits and consequent tooth-pattern. The primary problem in vertical classification lies in the fact that in the distant past a large group of related forms shared the same dental patterns, but only one gave rise to the modern group under study, while others left no descendants at all. Moreover, after the basic eutherian pattern was established, additional cusps, such as the hypocone, were added in the same position independently by different groups at different times. Furthermore, suggesting formal lineages by evaluation of contemporary forms can be misleading, although such studies have their value. Very few cave deposits predate the Pleistocene, and forest faunal elements are extremely rare as fossils. As caves and forests are the primary habitats of chiropterans, they have the poorest fossil record of any major group, even though they are second only to rodents in numbers of living forms. Working with what we have seems preferable to begging the whole question. By a careful examination of the dentitions of modern forms and the few available pre-Pleistocene fossils, one can plot the probable route each type has taken to arrive at the dentition it possesses. Using taxonomic units as representatives of stages in dental evolution seems preferable to numbering hypothetical stages. Even if the procession of stages is not 100% accurate, in most cases such an exercise can eliminate certain types of dentitions from the ancestry of others

Geological Survey and Appraisal of the Paleontological Resources of the Cooper Reservoir Basin, Delta and Hopkins Counties, Texas

During May and June, 1964, the Shuler Museum of Paleontology of Southern Methodist University made a preliminary geological and paleontological survey of the Middle Sulphur River within the basin of the proposed Cooper Reservoir. The work was done under the sponsorship of the National Park Service (Southwest Region). The Quaternary deposits of the basin were mapped and tentatively correlated with similar ones previously studied in the valley of the North Fork of the Sulphur River. A molluscan fauna of Late Pleistocene age and bones from sub-Recent deposits were recovered and identified. Recommendations are made for two weeks of preliminary work on the Cretaceous and Paleocene bedrock of the basin during the summer of 1965; one month of professional collecting and study of these rocks during the summer of 1966; and two months of student observation of the dam excavation for possible Quaternary bone beds, also during the summer of 1966

The first noted Occurence of Dasypus bellus in Texas

A small group of persons, The Dallas Prehistorical Society , has for several years been collecting fossil bones from the sec-ond of a series of alluvial terraces of the Trinity River. We have assembled a rather extensive fauna. Our fauna! list has not been published in full, although some specimens have been reported as new species. As some time will elapse before the fauna! paper will be ready for publication, it seems well to report here the first Texas record of Dasypus bellus (Simpson)

Preliminary Report on the Paleontology of the Livingston Reservoir Basin, Texas

During the winter of 1964-65 an area in Southeast Texas was prospected for paleontological localities worthy of salvage efforts before they are inundated by waters to be impounded by the Livingston Dam, which is to be constructed just west of Goodrich. The work was sponsored by the National Park Service (Southwest Region). The Quaternary deposits of the Trinity River and its tributaries were mapped in detail and the bedrock geology was mapped in reconnaissance. Two Pleistocene terraces are recognized, both of which contain vertebrate fossils. In addition, the highest terrace contains freshwater and terrestrial mollusks, and the lower terrace has produced excellently preserved logs. Fossil leaves and marine invertebrate and vertebrate fossils were recovered from Jackson rocks of Eocene age

Pleistocene Mammals of the Clear Creek Local Fauna, Denton County, Texas

Mammalian fossils collected from the second terrace above Clear Creek in Denton County, Texas, are here described as the Clear Creek local fauna. Ecological inferences drawn from current habits and ranges of the extant species, in addition to a radiocarbon date and certain stratigraphic data, suggest that the fauna belongs to the Sangamon interglacial interval (circa 25,000 B.P. to 40,000 B.P.

Notes on the Alluvial History of the Lampasas River, Texas

Excavations made in connection with the Stillhouse Hollow Dam construction in Bell County, Texas, offered an excellent view of almost complete sections of the floodplain and the two terraces developed in the valley at this point. In the process of work sponsored by the National Park Service, these sections were measured and their lithology recorded. A molluscan fauna was recovered from approximately two tons of sediments quarried from a shallow zone near the base of the T-1 terrace. A radio-carbon date from shells higher in the same terrace indicates an age of 4970 ± 250 B.P., according to the determination of Dr. Meyer Rubin of the U.S. Geological Survey. The tests were run on valves of Tritogonia verrucosa (Barnes), Quadrula pustulosa Lea, and Amblema perplicata (Conrad)

Geological and Paleontological Survey of the Bardwell Reservoir Basin, Ellis County, Texas

During June, July, and August, 1964, the Shuler Museum of Paleontology of Southern Methodist University made a survey of that portion of Waxahachie Creek that is to be flooded by the construction of the Bardwell Dam. The work was done under the sponsorship of the National Park Service (Southwest Region). The Quaternary deposits of Waxahachie Creek were mapped in detail and the bedrock geology outlined in general units. Extensive prospecting of all erosional and excavational exposures was carried out for the purpose of recovering both Cretaceous and Quaternary vertebrate and molluscan fossils. Two terraces were recognized above the present floodplain; the higher and older of the two contained identifiable remains of a mammoth and an excellent molluscan fauna. Fossils recovered from the Cretaceous bedrock include a fairly complete lower jaw of a marine reptile (mosasaur) and specimens of one teolost and at least six species of elasmobranch fishes. A new genus and species of ganopristid sawfish is also included

Geological and Paleontological Survey of the Forney Reservoir Basin, Kaufman and Rockwall Counties, Texas

The field work for this report was done during June, July, and August, 1964, by the Shuler Museum of Paleontology of Southern Methodist University under National Park Service Contract No. RO 330608. The Quaternary deposits of the East Fork of the Trinity River were mapped in the area of the basin of the proposed Forney Reservoir and the general patterns of bedrock geology outlined. All excavational and erosional exposures of terrace, floodplain, and bedrock deposits were prospected for molluscan and vertebrate fossils. Three terraces above the present floodplain are recognized

Sulphur River Formation and the Pleistocene Mammals of the Ben Franklin Local Fauna

An extensive alluvial deposit in northeastern Texas is here described and named the Sulphur River Formation. Twenty-one mammals from these deposits are identified and grouped under the name Ben Franklin local fauna. Fossils and radiocarbon dates indicate that the age of the fauna is Late Wisconsin