Biostratigraphy, Biogeography and Shape Analysis of Late Devonian Frasnian Conodonts

对欧洲美洲晚泥盆纪、弗拉斯纪牙形石序列的生物地层学分析得出法国黑山地区的13倍分带和阿尔伯塔落基山脉的不同的12倍分带。从图形相关性中得出的相关性假设解决了两个序列之间的差异，并允许开发由34个复合标准单位组成的半定量复合距离图。该标准的测试和修改将使用来自欧洲美洲其他序列的数据以及最近从澳大利亚获得的收集数据，在初步分析中已确定了黑山带3-13区。澳大利亚序列将为正在进行的澳大利亚牙形石生物地理学综合分析提供一个关键的位置。支撑这些研究的是一个从多元素分类学和形状分析发展起来的分类基础。前者是20世纪60年代分类学上的重大突破，在PI先前的资助下进行的研究之前，它对物种水平上的弗拉斯牙形石研究影响不大。形状分析，特别是自动轮廓分析，有可能量化进化上重要的形态特征，并将分类法的许多主观方面转化为精确的方法。

Biostratigraphic analysis of Late Devonian, Frasnian conodont sequences in Euramerica has led to a thirteen-fold zonation in the Montagne Noire, France and a different twelve- fold zonation in the Alberta Rockies. A correlation hypothesis derived from graphic correlation resolves the differences between the two sequences and allows development of a semi-quantitative composite range chart, consisting of 34 composite-standard units. Testing and modification of this standard will be pursued using data from other sequences in Euramerica and the recently acquired collections from Australia, where Montagne Noire zones 3-13 have been identified in preliminary analysis. The Australian sequence will provide a crucial location for an ongoing comprehensive analysis of Frasnian conodont biogeography. Underpinning these studies is a taxonomic base developed from multielement taxonomy and shape analysis. The former was the major taxonomic breakthrough of the 1960s, which has had little impact on Frasnian conodont studies at the species level until the research carried out under PI's previous grants. Shape analysis, especially automated outline analysis, has the potential to quantify evolutionarily significant morphologic characters and transform many of the subjective aspects of taxonomy into a precise methodology.