MORPHOMETRIC OBSERVATIONS OF DELTOBLASTUS SP. BLASTOIDS FROM THE PERMIAN OF TIMOR

Permian Deltoblastus blastoid faunas of Timor are noted for pristine preservation and detail; however, these faunas are understudied, with most reports dating back to Wanner (1924). This research seeks to verify those species assignments made by Wanner (1924), and to identify morphologically distinct forms of Deltoblastus in a quick, yet reliable, fashion. To do so, ordination methods are used to compare hundreds of unique taxa, and resulting clusters and outliers are compared to systematic descriptions to verify correct species assignments. When systematic observations and ordination methods are in agreement, they allow for the verification of species determinations, especially among species within the same genera. Ordination methods, such as non-metric multidimensional scaling (NDMS), principal components analysis (PCA), and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), condense multiaxial variation into easily visualized two- and three-dimensional space. These methods are used to compare Deltoblastus taxa in ordination space, and utilization of these comparisons aid in identifying correctly and incorrectly assigned species. Other studies of Permian blastoid faunas with Deltoblastus present are geographically and diversity limited, commonly containing only one or two species representative of the genus. This study seeks to rectify these restrictions by combining large university and museum collections from multiple Permian localities across Timor, allowing for a more holistic analysis of the genus, and an evaluation of the species contained within Deltoblastus. In doing so, clarification of the species assignments within Deltoblastus may be possible, and morphologically distinct variants of Deltoblastus may be identified which have been previously overlooked.