On the geology and palæontology of Forfarshire

Hickling, George

doi:10.1016/s0016-7878(12)80022-8

Cited by 9 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Palaeontological correlation of the beds is difficult, particu-larly as most material was collected over a century ago and is frequently poorly localised. However, it should be noted that there is a strong similarity between the Tillywhandland and Farnell faunas as listed by Hickling (1912) and the lithologies are also similar. Detailed faunal comparison is not easy as complete fish are rare and some of the fish not discussed by Watson (1937), and also the arthropods, require taxonomic revision.…”

Section: Dalradianmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…He also referred to the presence of a clay layer within the bed which could be used to identify it. Hickling (1912) did not consider it possible that the "Turin Hill' fish bed was at the same level as the others, but stated that 'Turin Hill' appears to refer to a number of localities. Armstrong and Paterson (1970) also considered that fish beds were developed at different levels and recognised eight stratigraphic groups of fossiliferous localities.…”

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confidence: 99%

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An Early Devonian lake and its associated biota in the Midland Valley of Scotland

Trewin

Davidson²

1995

Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences

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The Tillywhandland fish bed of the Lower Old Red Sandstone in the Strathmore area of the Scottish Midland Valley accumulated in a lake, here called Lake Forfar, which was created suddenly following a period of fluvial deposition. Lake creation may have been due to basin faulting or the disruption of drainage patterns by contemporaneous volcanic activity. The fish bed laminites accumulated in a hydrologically open lake under a seasonal climatic regime. When fully developed, laminites comprise repeated quadruplets of clastic silt/carbonate/organic/green clay–shale laminae averaging 0·5 mm in thickness. Following 2000 years of laminite deposition an increasingly silty succession with thin current-rippled sandstones provided the lake-fill.The fish fauna is dominated by Mesacanthus and Ischnacanthus with rare Euthacanthus, Parexus, Climatius, Vernicomacanthus and Cephalaspis. Most fish carcasses were partially decayed before deposition in the laminites on the poorly oxygenated lake floor. Abundant coprolites are the result of predation on Mesacanthus and small Ischnacanthus, probably by larger Ischnacanthus. Arthropods present include eurypterids (Pterygotus), washed in as near complete exuviae and fragments, and millipeds which were washed in from surrounding terrestrial environments along with plants, of which Parka and Zosterophyllum are common. Bioturbation indicates that conditions were not permanently anoxic during deposition of the laminites.Comparison of our collections with the Mitchell Collection accumulated in the 19th century indicates that Tillywhandland Quarry was the main source of specimens in laminite lithologies labelled ‘Turin Hill’.

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Section: Dalradianmentioning

confidence: 93%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

An Early Devonian lake and its associated biota in the Midland Valley of Scotland

Trewin

Davidson²

1995

Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences

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A revision of Vernicomacanthus Miles with comments on the characters of stem‐group chondrichthyans

Dearden

Blaauwen

Sansom

et al. 2021

Papers in Palaeontology

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The 'acanthodian' fishes provide key anatomical insights into the deepest branches of the chondrichthyan stem group. We review the anatomy of the acanthodian Vernicomacanthus uncinatus from the Lochkovian (Lower Devonian, of Scotland based on eight articulated fossils, one of which is newly described. Broadly, the anatomy of V. uncinatus fits with that of contemporaneous acanthodians such as Climatius and Parexus, with a head covered by robust tesserae, an enlarged postorbital scale, an armoured shoulder girdle, and many pairs of ventrolateral spines. However, it departs from this anatomy in key respects. Its pectoral fin spines are obliquely ridged and posteriorly denticulated, similarly to Carboniferous gyracanth stem-group chondrichthyans. Its scales consist of multiple anteroposteriorly aligned odontodes, similarly to many Palaeozoic 'sharks'. And its endoskeletal shoulder girdle may have a posterolateral angle, previously observed only in shark-like chondrichthyans. We propose that the differences between V. uncinatus and its congeneric, V. waynensis, which include potentially phylogenetically significant characters of the shoulder girdle and spines, are sufficient to erect a new genus for V. waynensis: Dobunnacanthus gen. nov. The scales of Vernicomacanthus are identical to those of the 'shark' scale genus Altholepis, suggesting that some such scales may instead belong to taxa with acanthodian-like gross anatomies. Based on these scales we highlight potential patterns in chondrichthyan scale evolution, in particular the axial addition of odontodes. Anatomical similarities between Vernicomacanthus and gyracanths, highlighted by previous authors, may indicate the existence of a grade including these and similar acanthodian-grade taxa placed relatively crownwards in the chondrichthyan stem-group.

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Lower Devonian spore assemblages from the Arbuthnott Group at Canterland Den in the Midland Valley of Scotland

Lavender

Wellman

2002

Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology

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On the geology and palæontology of Forfarshire

Cited by 9 publications

References 16 publications

An Early Devonian lake and its associated biota in the Midland Valley of Scotland

An Early Devonian lake and its associated biota in the Midland Valley of Scotland

A revision of Vernicomacanthus Miles with comments on the characters of stem‐group chondrichthyans

Lower Devonian spore assemblages from the Arbuthnott Group at Canterland Den in the Midland Valley of Scotland

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