Eochonetes revision published

by Alycia Stigall on October 12, 2016

The final section of Jennifer Bauer’s MS thesis research, a substantial phylogenetic and morphometric analysis of the Late Ordovician brachiopod genera Eochonetes and Thaerodonta has (finally) been formally published in the Journal of Paleontology.

Bauer, J.E. & Stigall, A.L. 2016. A combined morphometric and phylogenetic revision of the Late Ordovician brachiopod genera Eochonetes and Thaerodonta. Journal of Paleontology, 90 (5): 888-909. Online

Cliff notes version: most of the species previously referred to either genus belong within Eochonetes, Thaerodonta is not a valid genus, and some of the previously referred species don’t belong to this clade at all. Bonus fun: Jen named some new species including one for her amazing grandmothers and another for a character in her favorite book series.

I’m really very proud of Jen for her really excellent work on this project. I am also very pleased that we could clear up some of the confusing nomenclature around Cincinnati fossils. The species variably known as Thaerodonta clarksvillensis and Eochonetes clarksvillensis is now definitively Eochonetes clarksvillensis.*

*until someone else revises the genus at a later time