Susan Turner

• B.Sc. Special Honours Geol & VP, Ph.D. geol., Dip.
• Fellow at Queensland Museum

LOWER Palaeozoic faunal ``provinces'' in the northern hemisphere were controlled principally by the Appalachian/Caledonian orogen. Tuzo Wilson postulated a proto-Atlantic ocean closing during the Lower Palaeozoic so that the ``American'' and ``European'' landmasses collided during the Middle Palaeozoic1. Dewey remarked that faunas were of great pot...

Chondrichthyans (including living sharks, skates, rays and chimaeras) have a fossil record of scales and dermal denticles perhaps dating back to the Late Ordovician period, about 455 million years ago. Their fossil tooth record extends to the earliest Devonian period, almost 418 million years ago, whereas the oldest known articulated shark remains...

An historical review of the literature relating to placoderm scales preserved in association with articulated dermal plates, or as isolated units in microvertebrate assemblages, is followed by a discussion of their relevance in phylogenetic analyses of the Placodermi. The dentinous tissue forming the tubercles of Early Devonian acanthothoracid scal...

Some long-forgotten fossil evidence reveals that a dicynodont (mammal-like reptile of the infraorder Dicynodontia) inhabited Australia as recently as the Early Cretaceous, ca. 110 Myr after the supposed extinction of dicynodonts in the Late Triassic. This remarkably late occurrence more than doubles the known duration of dicynodont history (from ca...

As part of the celebration of 50 years of the Geological Curators Group (now G Collections G), This blog outlines sue's work and research in museums over that time mainly in England and Australia.

An opportunity to learn about the life and times of an important 20th century scientist - Erik Stensio who wrote "Autobiographical Notes" in old age, recollecting the important events, his perceived hard road to research, his arctic explirations and his innivations in comparative anatomy and vertebrate palaeontology that allowed him to found the St...

Dr. Habil. Valentina Karatajūtė-Talimaa (1930-2022) Valentina Nikolaeyevna Karatajūtė-Talimaa, Lithuanian, palaeoichthyologist supreme, Honorary member of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, died in early August in Vilnius, Lithuania. Valya or Valja, as we affectionately knew her, devoted over half a century of her life to the studies of Pala...

Memorial to the late Alex Ritchie, Scottish-Australian vertebrate palaeontologist

Four abstracts in the 17th Early/Lower Vertebrates volume are under my authorship: one on Silurian microvertebrates from Scotland and three are memorials for colleagues: Dr Valentina Karatajute-Talimaa (Lithiania), Dr Alex Ritchie (Australia), and Ian Macadie (New Zealand)

Vertebrate fish scales, predominantly those of an agnathan turiniid thelodont, and a few from acanthodian gnathostome Nostovicina laticristata are described from the Lower Devonian Günayyaka Formation in the Ovacık slice of the Tahtalıdağ Nappe north of Alanya (Antalya Unit) in the Anatalya region, southwest Anatolia, southern Turkey. The fish micr...

ABSTRACT–– A new gyracanthid, Gyracanthus? jasperi sp. nov., is described based on partially articulated and isolated elements from the Lower Carboniferous (Mississippian) Waugh Member of the Ste Genevieve Formation, at the early tetrapod site near Delta, Iowa USA. One pectoral fin spine of the new gyracanthid is described using micro-computed tomo...

The 16 th International Symposium on Early and Lower Vertebrates, Valencia, held in July 2022 was dedicated to the work of two important members of the Palaeozoic fossil fish community who have between them worked on numerous and various vertebrate groups and taxa, notably agnathan and gnathostome fishes. Geologists, Professors Tiiu Märss and Phili...

Detailed photographs of specimens from Late Silurian to earliest Devonian vertebrate biostratigraphy of the Birch Creek II section, Roberts Mountains, Nevada, U.S.A.

Agnathan remains (thelodont scales, possible heterostracans) and gnathostome remains (acanthodian, chondrichthyan, placoderm) support the Pridoli to Lochkovian dates for the Birch Creek II section in Nevada.

In 1978 Canadian Vera Lafferty created the magazine Episodes for the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) when she was working with then Secretary-General. This article looks at her life and achievements as part of the celebration of women in the IUGS for the 60th anniversary of the IUGS.

A memorial for my colleague and friend Professor Emeritus Alain R.M. Blieck

Late Ordovician (at least) to late Devonian 'agnathan' Thelodonti show one of the oldest dermal systems. Possession of a complete placoid squamation of 'non-growing' dentine crown and neck and a base of growing aspidin, and a large range of scale types are characteristic of the clade. Possession of basal root/'prong'/process of aspidin) and basal s...

Fossils have stirred the imagination globally for thousands of years, starting well before they were recognized as the remains of once-living organisms and proxies of former worlds. This volume samples the history of art about fossils and the visual conceptualization of their significance starting with biblical and mythological depictions, extendin...

Several of the early women Fellows of the Geological Society (FGS) who worked around the world, plus those who taught and inspired me when I was a young student starting out as a Junior Associate of GSL in the 1960s

The roads to becoming a palaeontologist or contributing to the discipline are many and varied and for women, often tortuous. Concentrating on early to mid 20 th century women in Europe brings to light some of the ways in which women survived in the field of vertebrate palaeontology (VP) studying from the earliest fish to our own human relatives. On...

Few pre-late Devonian sharks remains are found in Australia and here we discuss new teeth found in Victoria that enable better understanding of early shark teeth including those called Mcmurdodus from Antarctica and Queensland. A new genus and species are named in honour of Dr John Maisey, chondrichthyan specialist.

Society of Vertebrate Paleontology and Susan TURNER, former DAAD Professor and Emeritus member SVP cooperated over three years to create a first definitive history of Women in Vertebrate Paleontology, published in October 2020 by the Johns Hopkins University Press, with supplementary material on their website. This book aims to encourage more girls...

Geologists roam worldwide; no less for women who took up fellowship of the ‘Geol. Soc.’. Since 1919, women Fellows of the Geological Society have lived and worked across the globe conducting fieldwork and research. Based on the author's interests and in part considering her 50 years an FGS, a selection of women Fellows is considered, many of whom a...

BOOK OUTLINE Rebels, Scholars, and Explorers ~ Women in Vertebrate Paleontology Annalisa Berta and Susan Turner Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore October 2020 This book is dedicated to ‘all those women who have gone hunting bones, both in the field and in museum collections’ San Diego State University biologist Annalisa Berta has been a...

A look at many of the women who contributed to vertebrate palaeontology in Australasia in the 20th century

Researching the history of women who have contributed to the field of vertebrate palaeontology in Australasia from the early 20th century onward

Several vertebrate assemblages are described from the Silurian of the Oslo Region, Norway, based on the review and revision of previous reports of microremains (e.g. by Turner & Turner 1974), as well as unpublished material from museum collections. Articulated thelodont specimens from the Rudstangen Fauna, Ringerike Group, are also described here f...

The History of Geology Group of GSL held a one-day meeting to celebrate the 100th anniversary of women becoming Fellows of the Geological Society. As I have now been a Fellow for 50 years I wanted to highlight women I have known and who taught me and others who like me have wandered the globe doing geology. Conference volume will be a Special Publi...

A core sample from the offshore Pendock 1A well, Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia yielded microvertebrate residues at an horizon in the lower part of the Hamelin Formation, dated as late Silurian, ? Ludlow, based on associated conodonts. The fish fauna comprises loganelliiform thelodont scales, the ? stem gnathostome Aberrosquama occidens nov. ge...

Women have been pioneers in vertebrate paleontology from Mary Anning in the early 19th century to the present day, with an increasing presence in the last 50 years. We celebrate women vertebrate paleontologists all over the world and delve into their lives and work examining how the lure of our discipline has spread and shaped our understanding of...

Placoid and polyodontode scales of stem chondrichthyans have been found in the early Lochkovian "Ditton Group" of the Brown Clee Hill district, Shropshire, England and at Talgarth, south Wales. One of the forms is assigned to a new species of Altholepis Karatajute-Talimaa, 1997, a genus already recognised from Lochkovian shallow marine deposits in...

Agnathan and gnathostome remains, associated with lingulid brachiopod fragments and distinctive ostracods, have been extracted from a small calcareous mudstone sample collected from the type section of the Eastport Formation on the northern shore of Moose Island, Maine. The vertebrate assemblage includes osteostracan, anaspid, and thelodont scales,...

Here we explore the spatial, temporal and phylogenetic patterns of ecological diversification for the entire clade of thelodonts, one of the earliest groups of vertebrates and longest lasting of the Palaeozoic agnathans in the fossil record. Parsimony and maximum-likelihood methods are used to reconstruct ancestral states of their geographical dist...

Sparse fish microremains have been found in marine limestones from the Middle Devonian (Givetian) Skały Formation (Sitka Coral-Crinoid Limestone Member and Sierzawy Member), Swietomarz-Sniadka section, Bodzentyn Syncline, Łysogóry Region, northern Holy Cross Mountains, associated with conodonts of the hemiansatus to ansatus zones. Thelodont scales...

The higher taxonomic affinities of fin spines from the Lower Devonian (Emsian) Atholville beds, Campbellton Formation, near Campbellton, New Brunswick, Canada, originally identified as Ctenacanthus latispinosus, have been uncertain since they were first described by Whiteaves in the late 19th century. Woodward subsequently referred the species to C...

Fish remains from over 100 localities in the Upper Silurian to Lower Devonian (traditional Lower Old Red Sandstone: LORS: Přidolí–Pragian) of Wales and the Welsh Borderland Anglo-Welsh Basin, southwest Britain have been investigated. Work on microfossils of fish (‘microvertebrates’, generally <5–8 mm) is reviewed, covering agnathan thelodonts, hete...

After the demise of many fish taxa including xenacanth sharks before the Late Triassic, non-marine fish faunas reappeared in Australia the mid-Jurassic in the East Gondwana component of Pangaea with one new chondrichthyan occurring in the Late Jurassic freshwater Talbragar Lagerstätten near Gulgong, New South Wales. The Kimmeridgian Talbragar Fossi...

New fossils of “Gyracanthus” sherwoodi Newberry, 1889 are described primarily from the Late Devonian Red Hill site and Metzger’s Quarry (Catskill Formation, late Famennian) of Clinton and Sullivan Counties in central Pennsylvania. The fossils include ornamented prepectoral ventral plates, pectoral, pelvic, and dorsal fin spines, elements of the end...

Women have been pioneers in geoscience disciplines such as the structure of the Earth, palaeontology, oil exploration, organic geochemistry and plate tectonics theory. Gaining professional employment and geological credence came slowly, with few women recognized before the late nineteenth century. We highlight their important roles and the obstacle...

Geotourism history on Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf

The early Frasnian turiniid thelodont Neoturinia hutkensis gen. nov. is re-described on the basis of a new large scale set from the Chahriseh section in central Iran. Detailed morphological and histological information supports a new generic affinity for this species, which was previously assigned to Turinia. The generic affinity of other turiniid...

Women have played a significant role in Australian geoscience, and especially in palaeontology. ‘Australian’ women gained degrees by the early 20th century and began to contribute intensively. Australian-born young women already immured to the rigours of climate and culture, collected and illustrated fossils, enrolled in the first university course...

No abstract is available for this article.

In the pioneering century of Australian geology the ‘BM’ (British Museum (Natural History): now NHMUK) London played a major role in assessing the palaeontology and stratigraphical relations of samples sent across long distances by local men, both professional and amateur. Eighteen-year-old Arthur Woodward (1864–1944) joined the museum in 1882, was...

Microvertebrate samples from the Upper Devonian Hojedk section, southeastern Iran, and the Napier Formation, northwestern Australia, have yielded scales of agnathan thelodonts, dated as early/mid-Famennian (crepida-marginifera/trachytera conodont zones). These scales are referred to Arianalepis megacostata, a new genus and species, and Arianalepis...

The newly discovered and large ca. 99 Ma Gaosongshan gold deposit is located in the Lesser Hinggan (or Xinggan) Range to the west of the Jiamusi Massif. The deposit is located at the border of the Great Hinggan Range-Mongolian Orogen with the Circum-Pacific tectonic belt and has a resource of ~ 22 t @ 6.3 g/t Au. Gaosongshan is classified as a adul...

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A diverse vertebrate fauna, comprising both micro-and macrovertebrate remains, is known from the Paleozoic of Western Australia. However, it is the Late Devonian fauna of the Gogo Formation that shows exceptional preservation and which is the best known. Advances in tomographic techniques, both micro-CT and synchrotron, have revealed new histologic...

Geology and landscape profoundly influence society, civilization and cultural diversity on our planet. The subtle relationships between peoples have changed irrevocably since our species began its journey in the Ice Age. The last 10,000 years have been a boom time: we planted crops, domesticated animals and built cities; population burgeoned; and i...

Doliodus problematicus is the oldest known fossil shark-like fish with an almost intact dentition (Emsian, Lower Devonian, c. 397Ma). We provide a detailed description of the teeth and dentition in D. problematicus, based on tomographic analysis of NBMG 10127 (New Brunswick Museum, Canada). Comparisons with modern shark dentitions suggest that Doli...

Rare scales of agnathan thelodonts Paralogania ludlowiensis and Thelodus sp. cf. T. parvidens, or alternatively Thelodus macintoshi, and acanthodian fishes Nostolepis striata, Gomphonchus sp., Gomphonchoporus sp. aff. G. hoppei, and Machaeraporus stonehousensis (Legault) n. gen., plus acanthodian fin spines, teeth and tooth whorls have been identif...

Calcareous and sandy deposits from the basal members of the Enmakaj and Pil'hikaj formations in coastal exposures along the De Long Strait in central Chukotka, Arctic far-eastern Russia, have yielded two assemblages of fossil fish comprising heterostracan plate fragments, turiniid and other thelodont scales, acanthodian scales and a partial tooth,...

Although the concept of ichnology as a single coherent field arose in the nineteenth century, the endeavor of understanding traces is old as civilization and involved cultural areas worldwide. In fact, fossil and recent traces were recognized since prehistoric times and their study emerged from the European Renaissance. This progression, from empir...

Of late little work has been done on Palaeozoic fossil fish taphonomy especially in the Devonian period, [known also as the Age of Fishes], apart from the best-known Lagerstätten. Konservat deposits in the Silurian are rarer even though they have produced the earliest described complete fossil fish. In recent decades, research including taphonomic...

Gladbachus adentatus is a putative chondrichthyan, known only from the holotype specimen, which comprises an articulated endoskeleton complete from head to pelvic region with the squamation also preserved. The scales superficially resemble those of placoderms more than sharks, in having a similar gross morphology, lamellar cellular bone forming the...

Seeking Australian specimens collected in the 19th century always needs detective work. Fossils collected by one colourful collector, the Polish 'Count' Paul Strzelecki, from early travels in the colony of New South Wales are being sought. A 30-year search has still not brought to light in Australia or Britain the first fossil fish found from the L...

A new Early Carboniferous (Mississippian, mid-Visean) chondrichthyan, Reginaselache morrisi, n. g., n. sp., from non- or marginal marine sandy mudstones of the Tetrapod Unit of the mid-Visean (330 Ma = top Holkerian/basal Asbian) Ducabrook Formation, northwest of Springsure, central Queensland, is referred to the order Xenacanthiformes. The taxon i...

Klug, C., Kröger, B., Kiessling, W., Mullins, G.L., Servais, T., Frýda, J., Korn, D. & Turner, S. 2009: The Devonian nekton revolution. Lethaia, 10.1111/j.1502-3931.2009.00206.x Traditional analyses of Early Phanerozoic marine diversity at the genus level show an explosive radiation of marine life until the Late Ordovician, followed by a phase of e...

An evidence-based reassessment of the phylogenetic relationships of conodonts shows that they are not “stem” gnathostomes, nor vertebrates, and not even craniates. A signifi cant group of conodont workers have proposed or accepted a craniate designation for the conodont animal, an interpretation that is increasingly becoming established as accepted...

The term vertebrate is generally viewed by systematists in two contexts, either as Craniata (myxinoids or hagfishes + vertebrates s.s., i.e. basically, animals possessing a stiff backbone) or as Vertebrata (lampreys + other vertebrae-bearing animals, which we propose to call here Euvertebrata). Craniates are characterized by a skull; vertebrates by...

The late Devonian–Carboniferous (D–C) shark Thrinacodus has been known only from highly distinctive teeth since its first description from North America in 1875. The poor quality of illustrations of the type material meant that the thrinacodont tooth form remained unrecognized until the early 1980s when similar teeth were found in D–C boundary beds...

Despite dinosaurs becoming significant ‘icons’ in our culture, few women have made major contributions to the study of fossil vertebrates, especially reptilian taxonomy, by specializing in the dinosaurs and related ‘saurians’. Most who were involved over the first 150 years were not professional palaeontologists but instead wives, daughters and pur...

Silurian vertebrate remains are rare in the Australasian region, mostly lacking from the end Ordovician to the mid-Ludlow presumably because of the purported Gondwana Ice Age. Thelodont, placoderm, acanthodian, ?stem actinopterygian, and probable chondrichthyan remains are known from eastern and western Australia and Irian Jaya. Of significance are...

... View Within Article. 2. Devonian palaeogeography and palaeolatitude. Two longstanding contentious issues regarding palaeogeographic connections between East Gondwana and other areas remain unresolved. ... 3.1. Early–Middle Devonian (Emsian–Eifelian). ...

The term vertebrate is generally viewed by systematists in two contexts, either as Craniata (myxinoids or hagfishes + vertebrates s.s., i.e. basically, animals possessing a stiff backbone) or as Vertebrata (lampreys + other vertebrae-bearing animals, which we propose to call here Euvertebrata). Craniates are characterized by a skull; vertebrates by...