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Beck RM, Voss RS, Jansa SA. Craniodental Morphology and Phylogeny of Marsupials. BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 2022. [DOI: 10.1206/0003-0090.457.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Robin M.D. Beck
- School of Science, Engineering and Environment University of Salford, U.K. School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences University of New South Wales, Australia Division of Vertebrate Zoology (Mammalogy) American Museum of Natural History
| | - Robert S. Voss
- Division of Vertebrate Zoology (Mammalogy) American Museum of Natural History
| | - Sharon A. Jansa
- Bell Museum and Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota
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The multicausal twilight of South American native mammalian predators (Metatheria, Sparassodonta). Sci Rep 2022; 12:1224. [PMID: 35075186 PMCID: PMC8786871 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05266-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Sparassodonts were the apex mammalian predators of South America throughout most of the Cenozoic, diversifying into a wide array of niches including fox-like and even saber-toothed forms. Their extinction is still controversial, with different authors suggesting competition with other predators (placental carnivorans, terror birds, and carnivorous opossums), extinction of prey, and climate change as causal explanations. Here, we analyse these hypotheses using a novel approach implicating Bayesian analyses. We find that speciation and extinction rates of sparassodonts can be correlated with (i) intrinsic biotic factors such as changes in body mass and diversity of sparassodonts, (ii) extrinsic biotic factors such as potential prey diversity, and iii) extrinsic abiotic factors like the atmospheric CO2, sea level, temperature, and uplift of the Andes. Thus, sparassodonts are a good example of a multilevel mixed model of evolution, where various factors drove the evolutionary history of this clade in a pluralistic way. There is no evidence for competition between Sparassodonta and others predators, and the effect of competition in the face of extinctions of fossil species should be tested and not assumed. Furthermore, we propose a novel approach for evaluating the fossil record when performing macroevolutionary analyses.
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Oliveira ÉV, Carneiro LM, Goin FJ. A new derorhynchid (Mammalia, Metatheria) from the early Eocene Itaboraí fauna of Brazil with comments on its affinities. AN ACAD BRAS CIENC 2021; 93:e20201554. [PMID: 34378646 DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765202120201554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
A new early Eocene, small-sized metatherian from the Itaboraí fauna is described. The new taxon is recognized on the basis of an incomplete dentary recovered from fissure fillings in the travertine limestones from the Itaboraí Basin, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The phylogenetic analysis placed the new genus and species as the sister taxon of Derorhynchus, undescribed Derorhynchidae, and Coona plus Pauladelphys. When compared to Derorhynchus, the new taxon exhibits a shorter dentary, in which the first lower premolar is not separated from the second by a diastema, and shows second and third lower molars with subequal trigonid and talonid width (in Derorhynchus the talonids are wider than the trigonids). This new taxon shows some plesiomorphic traits when compared with the remaining derorhynchids, such as the shallower dentary (less than 1.5 mm), and conical entoconids rather than flattened in shape. The combination of very small size (~13-20g), sharp crests, tall and slender cuspids, broad talonid basins, as well as trigonid taller than the talonid is suggestive of an insectivorous diet for the new taxon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Édison Vicente Oliveira
- PPGEOC, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geociências, Departamento de Geologia, Centro de Tecnologia e Geociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Acadêmico Hélio Ramos, s/n, Cidade Universitária, 50740-530, Recife, PE, Brazil.,Paleolab, Laboratório de Paleontologia, Departamento de Geologia, Centro de Tecnologia e Geociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Acadêmico Hélio Ramos, s/n, Cidade Universitária, 50740-530, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Leonardo M Carneiro
- PPGEOC, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geociências, Departamento de Geologia, Centro de Tecnologia e Geociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Acadêmico Hélio Ramos, s/n, Cidade Universitária, 50740-530, Recife, PE, Brazil.,Laboratório de Paleontologia e Paleoecologia da Sociedade de História Natural, Travessa Florêncio Augusto Chagas nº 8B, 2560-230 Torres Vedras, Portugal
| | - Francisco J Goin
- División Paleontología Vertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, s/n, B1900FWA La Plata, Argentina
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Davis SN, Torres CR, Musser GM, Proffitt JV, Crouch NM, Lundelius EL, Lamanna MC, Clarke JA. New mammalian and avian records from the late Eocene La Meseta and Submeseta formations of Seymour Island, Antarctica. PeerJ 2020; 8:e8268. [PMID: 31942255 PMCID: PMC6955110 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2019] [Accepted: 11/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The middle-late Eocene of Antarctica was characterized by dramatic change as the continent became isolated from the other southern landmasses and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current formed. These events were crucial to the formation of the permanent Antarctic ice cap, affecting both regional and global climate change. Our best insight into how life in the high latitudes responded to this climatic shift is provided by the fossil record from Seymour Island, near the eastern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. While extensive collections have been made from the La Meseta and Submeseta formations of this island, few avian taxa other than penguins have been described and mammalian postcranial remains have been scarce. Here, we report new fossils from Seymour Island collected by the Antarctic Peninsula Paleontology Project. These include a mammalian metapodial referred to Xenarthra and avian material including a partial tarsometatarsus referred to Gruiformes (cranes, rails, and allies). Penguin fossils (Sphenisciformes) continue to be most abundant in new collections from these deposits. We report several penguin remains including a large spear-like mandible preserving the symphysis, a nearly complete tarsometatarsus with similarities to the large penguin clade Palaeeudyptes but possibly representing a new species, and two small partial tarsometatarsi belonging to the genus Delphinornis. These findings expand our view of Eocene vertebrate faunas on Antarctica. Specifically, the new remains referred to Gruiformes and Xenarthra provide support for previously proposed, but contentious, earliest occurrence records of these clades on the continent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah N. Davis
- Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - Christopher R. Torres
- Department of Integrated Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - Grace M. Musser
- Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - James V. Proffitt
- School of Medicine, The University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States of America
| | - Nicholas M.A. Crouch
- Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - Ernest L. Lundelius
- Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - Matthew C. Lamanna
- Section of Vertebrate Paleontology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America
| | - Julia A. Clarke
- Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States of America
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Babot MJ, Rougier GW, García-Lopez D, Davis BM. New Small Bunodont Metatherian from the Late Eocene of the Argentinean Puna. J MAMM EVOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10914-019-09468-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Eldridge MDB, Beck RMD, Croft DA, Travouillon KJ, Fox BJ. An emerging consensus in the evolution, phylogeny, and systematics of marsupials and their fossil relatives (Metatheria). J Mammal 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyz018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Mark D B Eldridge
- Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Robin M D Beck
- School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Darin A Croft
- School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | | | - Barry J Fox
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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