Mark McMenamin

20 Questions 32 Answers 0 Followers

Questions related from Mark McMenamin

Do any drilling gastropod species secrete a ring of nacre around the outer rim of the borehole they are drilling?

Our lab has observed this feature on presumed naticid drill holes penetrating shells of Saxolucina (Megaxinus) anodonta (Say) from the Miocene Choptank Formation, Patuxent River, Maryland, USA.

09 February 2018 8,092 4 View

Are any polypteriform (reedfishes and bichirs) fish fossils known from the Cretaceous of Western North America?

In other words, has anyone reported fossil polypteriforms from Laramidia?

17 December 2016 8,947 4 View

Are modern agrichnial trace fossils known to exist?

Specifically, has microbial farming been described in any modern burrows?

06 December 2015 8,280 8 View

Are there any freshwater tunicates?

If not, why not?

01 December 2014 5,517 5 View

What is the oldest known fossil bamboo coral?

Are there reports of members of the family Isididae older than the Cretaceous?

23 September 2014 7,438 2 View

Who was the first to compare the Cambrian Explosion to the Big Bang?

Did anyone publish this concept before we made the comparison in The Emergence of Animals (Columbia U. Press, 1990) on p. ix?

22 August 2014 2,293 7 View

How much influence would you say Dolf Seilacher had on Gould and Lewontin's "spandrels" paper, particularly on their critique of 'panadapationism'?

See Hallam's obituary for Seilacher in the Geoscientist 24(7):28.

07 August 2014 2,135 3 View

What is the largest known seed fern (Pteridospermatophyta) cupule?

Do any Caytonia-type cupules exceed one centimeter in greatest dimension?

14 April 2014 8,496 2 View

Under what circumstances may a major scientific discovery be reported to the media before its public presentation at a national scientific meeting?

Responses to this question will help to determine my course of action with regard to the forthcoming announcement of a recent discovery.

27 September 2013 6,602 8 View

What is the oldest known fossil amphipod?

Why do amphipods in general have such a limited fossil record?

25 June 2013 4,839 6 View

Is the type and only specimen of Bostrichopus antiquus Goldfuss in fact lost?

Does anyone have recent interpretations or ideas about this curious taxon?

22 May 2013 9,280 1 View

Can Neo-Darwinism (ND) today be considered a valid scientific theory?

[Tip of the hat to Darryl Smith.]

09 May 2013 9,118 33 View

Can anyone provide a status update on the Scottish fossil Palaeospondylus gunni?

In particularly, are there any recently published reports on the Devonian species?

26 April 2013 6,718 3 View

How reliable is clumped-isotope geochemistry as a paleothermometer for ancient carbonates?

Has it ever been used successfully as a paleothermometer for ancient lake marls?

12 April 2013 2,781 0 View

What is the largest known living cephalopod?

How large is it?

02 April 2013 9,845 3 View

What is the best estimate for the duration of the Cambrian Explosion?

Which animal and protistan phyla appear simultaneously (within the resolution of chronostratigraphy)?

01 April 2013 9,547 3 View

What does the attachment site of a cephalopod egg or egg case look like?

In particular, do these ever have the character of an attachment disc, say, with concentric ornamentation?

25 March 2013 8,568 3 View

Is there any possibility that a species of Chirotherium had opposable digits?

If so, how might the animal have used opposable digits?

22 March 2013 3,468 4 View

Are there any modern examples of marine brood nests composed of fecal or other types of pellets?

I am looking for examples where the eggs are deposited in the center of a cluster of pellets.

16 November 2012 7,434 0 View

In what ways, if any, is cephalopod vision superior to aquatic vertebrate vision?

I am particularly interested in visual acuity at low light levels.

16 November 2012 708 4 View