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Kubota K, Kobayashi Y, Ikeda T. Early Cretaceous troodontine troodontid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Ohyamashimo Formation of Japan reveals the early evolution of Troodontinae. Sci Rep 2024; 14:16392. [PMID: 39054320 PMCID: PMC11272788 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-66815-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2024] [Accepted: 07/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024] Open
Abstract
A new troodontid dinosaur, Hypnovenator matsubaraetoheorum gen. et sp. nov., is described based on an articulated postcranial skeleton recovered from the fluvial deposits of the Albian Ohyamashimo Formation of the Sasayama Group in Tambasasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Hypnovenator is distinguished from other troodontids by four autapomorphies and a combination of additional features. Our phylogenetic analysis positions Hypnovenator as the oldest and one of the most basal troodontines, forming a clade with Gobivenator mongoliensis. The discovery of Hypnovenator suggests that small-bodied maniraptorans with a sleeping posture were common not only in environments with volcanic and eolian events or alluvial systems but also in fluvial systems. Geometric morphometric analysis of manual ungual phalanges shows that manual ungual phalanges I and III of Hypnovenator exhibit considerable morphological variation but are functionally similar, which differs from those of non-troodontine troodontids, reflecting the transition of manual motion within Troodontinae. Hypnovenator also has mosaic features in the pes related to cursoriality. This study reveals that asymmetrical arctometatarsus occurred by the Albian, and some morphological changes, such as shorter digit IV than digit III and non-ungual phalanges of digits III with roller joints and digit IV with weakly ginglymoid articulation, arose during the early Late Cretaceous.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katsuhiro Kubota
- Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo, Sanda, Hyogo, 669‑1546, Japan.
- Institute of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Hyogo, Sanda, Hyogo, 669‑1546, Japan.
- Hokkaido University Museum, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060‑0810, Japan.
| | - Yoshitsugu Kobayashi
- Hokkaido University Museum, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060‑0810, Japan
| | - Tadahiro Ikeda
- Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo, Sanda, Hyogo, 669‑1546, Japan
- Institute of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Hyogo, Sanda, Hyogo, 669‑1546, Japan
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2
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Oh JDH, Freem L, Saunders DDZ, McTeir L, Gilhooley H, Jackson M, Glover JD, Smith J, Schoenebeck JJ, Lettice LA, Sang HM, Davey MG. Insights into digit evolution from a fate map study of the forearm using Chameleon, a new transgenic chicken line. Development 2024; 151:dev202340. [PMID: 38828852 PMCID: PMC11234372 DOI: 10.1242/dev.202340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
The cellular and genetic networks that contribute to the development of the zeugopod (radius and ulna of the forearm, tibia and fibula of the leg) are not well understood, although these bones are susceptible to loss in congenital human syndromes and to the action of teratogens such as thalidomide. Using a new fate-mapping approach with the Chameleon transgenic chicken line, we show that there is a small contribution of SHH-expressing cells to the posterior ulna, posterior carpals and digit 3. We establish that although the majority of the ulna develops in response to paracrine SHH signalling in both the chicken and mouse, there are differences in the contribution of SHH-expressing cells between mouse and chicken as well as between the chicken ulna and fibula. This is evidence that, although zeugopod bones are clearly homologous according to the fossil record, the gene regulatory networks that contribute to their development and evolution are not fixed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Dong Hwa Oh
- Functional Genetics, The Roslin Institute R(D)SVS, CMVM, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Lu Freem
- Functional Genetics, The Roslin Institute R(D)SVS, CMVM, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Dillan D. Z. Saunders
- Functional Genetics, The Roslin Institute R(D)SVS, CMVM, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Lynn McTeir
- Functional Genetics, The Roslin Institute R(D)SVS, CMVM, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Hazel Gilhooley
- Functional Genetics, The Roslin Institute R(D)SVS, CMVM, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Melany Jackson
- Genetics and Genomics, The Roslin Institute R(D)SVS, CMVM, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
| | - James D. Glover
- Functional Genetics, The Roslin Institute R(D)SVS, CMVM, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Jonathan Smith
- Functional Genetics, The Roslin Institute R(D)SVS, CMVM, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Jeffrey J. Schoenebeck
- Genetics and Genomics, The Roslin Institute R(D)SVS, CMVM, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Laura A. Lettice
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Helen M. Sang
- Functional Genetics, The Roslin Institute R(D)SVS, CMVM, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
| | - Megan G. Davey
- Functional Genetics, The Roslin Institute R(D)SVS, CMVM, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
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3
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Ezcurra MD. Exploring the effects of weighting against homoplasy in genealogies of palaeontological phylogenetic matrices. Cladistics 2024; 40:242-281. [PMID: 38728134 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Although simulations have shown that implied weighting (IW) outperforms equal weighting (EW) in phylogenetic parsimony analyses, weighting against homoplasy lacks extensive usage in palaeontology. Iterative modifications of several phylogenetic matrices in the last decades resulted in extensive genealogies of datasets that allow the evaluation of differences in the stability of results for alternative character weighting methods directly on empirical data. Each generation was compared against the most recent generation in each genealogy because it is assumed that it is the most comprehensive (higher sampling), revised (fewer misscorings) and complete (lower amount of missing data) matrix of the genealogy. The analyses were conducted on six different genealogies under EW and IW and extended implied weighting (EIW) with a range of concavity constant values (k) between 3 and 30. Pairwise comparisons between trees were conducted using Robinson-Foulds distances normalized by the total number of groups, distortion coefficient, subtree pruning and regrafting moves, and the proportional sum of group dissimilarities. The results consistently show that IW and EIW produce results more similar to those of the last dataset than EW in the vast majority of genealogies and for all comparative measures. This is significant because almost all of these matrices were originally analysed only under EW. Implied weighting and EIW do not outperform each other unambiguously. Euclidean distances based on a principal components analysis of the comparative measures show that different ranges of k-values retrieve the most similar results to the last generation in different genealogies. There is a significant positive linear correlation between the optimal k-values and the number of terminals of the last generations. This could be employed to inform about the range of k-values to be used in phylogenetic analyses based on matrix size but with the caveat that this emergent relationship still relies on a low sample size of genealogies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martín D Ezcurra
- Sección Paleontología de Vertebrados, CONICET-Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK
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4
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Pol D, Baiano MA, Černý D, Novas FE, Cerda IA, Pittman M. A new abelisaurid dinosaur from the end Cretaceous of Patagonia and evolutionary rates among the Ceratosauria. Cladistics 2024; 40:307-356. [PMID: 38771085 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Gondwanan dinosaur faunae during the 20 Myr preceding the Cretaceous-Palaeogene (K/Pg) extinction included several lineages that were absent or poorly represented in Laurasian landmasses. Among these, the South American fossil record contains diverse abelisaurids, arguably the most successful groups of carnivorous dinosaurs from Gondwana in the Cretaceous, reaching their highest diversity towards the end of this period. Here we describe Koleken inakayali gen. et sp. n., a new abelisaurid from the La Colonia Formation (Maastrichtian, Upper Cretaceous) of Patagonia. Koleken inakayali is known from several skull bones, an almost complete dorsal series, complete sacrum, several caudal vertebrae, pelvic girdle and almost complete hind limbs. The new abelisaurid shows a unique set of features in the skull and several anatomical differences from Carnotaurus sastrei (the only other abelisaurid known from the La Colonia Formation). Koleken inakayali is retrieved as a brachyrostran abelisaurid, clustered with other South American abelisaurids from the latest Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian), such as Aucasaurus, Niebla and Carnotaurus. Leveraging our phylogeny estimates, we explore rates of morphological evolution across ceratosaurian lineages, finding them to be particularly high for elaphrosaurine noasaurids and around the base of Abelisauridae, before the Early Cretaceous radiation of the latter clade. The Noasauridae and their sister clade show contrasting patterns of morphological evolution, with noasaurids undergoing an early phase of accelerated evolution of the axial and hind limb skeleton in the Jurassic, and the abelisaurids exhibiting sustained high rates of cranial evolution during the Early Cretaceous. These results provide much needed context for the evolutionary dynamics of ceratosaurian theropods, contributing to broader understanding of macroevolutionary patterns across dinosaurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Pol
- Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Mattia Antonio Baiano
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Área Laboratorio e Investigación, Museo Municipal Ernesto Bachmann, Villa El Chocón, Neuquén, Argentina
- Universidad Nacional de Río Negro (UNRN), General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - David Černý
- Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Fernando E Novas
- Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ignacio A Cerda
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Universidad Nacional de Río Negro (UNRN), General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina
- Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología (IIPG), General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina
- Museo Provincial Carlos Ameghino, Cipolletti, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - Michael Pittman
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China
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Pintore R, Hutchinson JR, Bishop PJ, Tsai HP, Houssaye A. The evolution of femoral morphology in giant non-avian theropod dinosaurs. PALEOBIOLOGY 2024; 50:308-329. [PMID: 38846629 PMCID: PMC7616063 DOI: 10.1017/pab.2024.6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2024]
Abstract
Theropods are obligate bipedal dinosaurs that appeared 230 million years ago and are still extant as birds. Their history is characterized by extreme variations in body mass, with gigantism evolving convergently between many lineages. However, no quantification of hindlimb functional morphology has shown if these body mass increases led to similar specializations between distinct lineages. Here we studied femoral shape variation across 41 species of theropods (n= 68 specimens) using a high-density 3D geometric morphometric approach. We demonstrated that the heaviest theropods evolved wider epiphyses and a more distally located fourth trochanter, as previously demonstrated in early archosaurs, along with an upturned femoral head and a mediodistal crest that extended proximally along the shaft. Phylogenetically informed analyses highlighted that these traits evolved convergently within six major theropod lineages, regardless of their maximum body mass. Conversely, the most gracile femora were distinct from the rest of the dataset, which we interpret as a femoral specialization to "miniaturization" evolving close to Avialae (bird lineage). Our results support a gradual evolution of known "avian" features, such as the fusion between lesser and greater trochanters and a reduction of the epiphyses' offset, independently from body mass variations, which may relate to a more "avian" type of locomotion (more knee-than hip-driven). The distinction between body mass variations and a more "avian" locomotion is represented by a decoupling in the mediodistal crest morphology, whose biomechanical nature should be studied to better understand the importance of its functional role in gigantism, miniaturization and higher parasagittal abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romain Pintore
- Mécanismes adaptatifs et évolution (MECADEV) / UMR 7179. CNRS / Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, FR
- Structure and Motion Laboratory, Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, UK
| | | | - Peter J. Bishop
- Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
- Geosciences Program, Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Queensland, AU
| | - Henry P. Tsai
- Department of Biology, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, USA
| | - Alexandra Houssaye
- Mécanismes adaptatifs et évolution (MECADEV) / UMR 7179. CNRS / Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, FR
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6
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Foffa D, Young MT, Brusatte SL. Comparative functional morphology indicates niche partitioning among sympatric marine reptiles. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:231951. [PMID: 39076819 PMCID: PMC11285779 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2023] [Revised: 03/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/31/2024]
Abstract
Mesozoic marine ecosystems were dominated by diverse lineages of aquatic tetrapods. For over 50 Ma in the Jurassic until the Early Cretaceous, plesiosaurians, ichthyosaurians and thalattosuchian crocodylomorphs coexisted at the top levels of trophic food webs. We created a functional dataset of continuous craniomandibular and dental characters known from neontological studies to be functionally significant in modern aquatic tetrapods. We analysed this dataset with multivariate ordination and inferential statistics to assess functional similarities and differences in the marine reptile faunas of two well-sampled Jurassic ecosystems deposited in the same seaway: the Oxford Clay Formation (OCF, Callovian-early Oxfordian, Middle-Late Jurassic) and the Kimmeridge Clay Formation (KCF, Kimmeridgian-Tithonian, Late Jurassic) of the UK. Lower jaw-based macroevolutionary trends are similar to those of tooth-based diversity studies. Closely related species cluster together, with minimal overlaps in the morphospace. Marine reptile lineages were characterized by the distinctive combinations of features, but we reveal multiple instances of morphofunctional convergence among different groups. We quantitatively corroborate previous observations that the ecosystems in the OCF and KCF were markedly distinct in faunal composition and structure. Morphofunctional differentiation may have enabled specialization and was an important factor facilitating the coexistence of diverse marine reptile assemblages in deep time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Foffa
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Department of Natural Sciences, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Mark T. Young
- School of GeoSciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, EdinburghEH9 3FE, UK
| | - Stephen L. Brusatte
- Department of Natural Sciences, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
- School of GeoSciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, EdinburghEH9 3FE, UK
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7
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Freisem LS, Müller J, Sues HD, Sobral G. A new sphenodontian (Diapsida: Lepidosauria) from the Upper Triassic (Norian) of Germany and its implications for the mode of sphenodontian evolution. BMC Ecol Evol 2024; 24:35. [PMID: 38493125 PMCID: PMC10944618 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-024-02218-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The Arnstadt Formation of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany has yielded some of Germany's most substantial finds of Late Triassic tetrapods, including the sauropodomorph Plateosaurus and the stem-turtle Proganochelys quenstedti. Here, we describe an almost complete skull of a new sphenodontian taxon from this formation (Norian, 227-208 Ma), making it the oldest known articulated sphenodontian skull from Europe and one of the oldest in the world. The material is represented by the dermal skull roof and by the complete maxilla and temporal region, as well as parts of the palate, braincase, and lower jaw. A phylogenetic assessment recovers it as a basal sphenodontian closely related to Planocephalosaurus robinsonae and to Eusphenodontia, making it the earliest-diverging sphenodontian known with an articulated skull. Its cranial anatomy is generally similar to the well-known Diphydontosaurus avonis from the Rhaetian of England, showing that this successful phenotype was already established in the clade around 10 myr earlier than assumed. An analysis of evolutionary change rates recovers high rates of evolution in basal sphenodontians, with decreasing rates throughout the evolution of the group. However, contrary to previous studies, reversals in this trend were identified, indicating additional peaks of evolutionary change. These results improve our understanding of the early sphenodontian diversity in Europe, providing critical information on evolutionary trends throughout the history of the clade and sparking renewed interest in its evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa S Freisem
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
| | - Johannes Müller
- Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- Und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, Berlin, 10115, Germany
| | - Hans-Dieter Sues
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, MRC 121, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Gabriela Sobral
- Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Rosenstein 1, Stuttgart, 70191, Germany.
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8
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Wu Q, O’Connor JK, Wang S, Zhou Z. Transformation of the pectoral girdle in pennaraptorans: critical steps in the formation of the modern avian shoulder joint. PeerJ 2024; 12:e16960. [PMID: 38436017 PMCID: PMC10909347 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Important transformations of the pectoral girdle are related to the appearance of flight capabilities in the Dinosauria. Previous studies on this topic focused mainly on paravians yet recent data suggests flight evolved in dinosaurs several times, including at least once among non-avialan paravians. Thus, to fully explore the evolution of flight-related avian shoulder girdle characteristics, it is necessary to compare morphology more broadly. Here, we present information from pennaraptoran specimens preserving pectoral girdle elements, including all purportedly volant taxa, and extensively compare aspects of the shoulder joint. The results show that many pectoral girdle modifications appear during the evolution from basal pennaraptorans to paravians, including changes in the orientation of the coracoid body and the location of the articulation between the furcula and scapula. These modifications suggest a change in forelimb range of motion preceded the origin of flight in paravians. During the evolution of early avialans, additional flight adaptive transformations occur, such as the separation of the scapula and coracoid and reduction of the articular surface between these two bones, reduction in the angle between these two elements, and elongation of the coracoid. The diversity of coracoid morphologies and types of articulations joining the scapula-coracoid suggest that each early avialan lineage evolved these features in parallel as they independently evolved more refined flight capabilities. In early ornithothoracines, the orientation of the glenoid fossa and location of the acrocoracoid approaches the condition in extant birds, suggesting a greater range of motion in the flight stroke, which may represent the acquisition of improved powered flight capabilities, such as ground take-off. The formation of a new articulation between the coracoid and furcula in the Ornithuromorpha is the last step in the formation of an osseous triosseal canal, which may indicate the complete acquisition of the modern flight apparatus. These morphological transitions equipped birds with a greater range of motion, increased and more efficient muscular output and while at the same time transmitting the increased pressure being generated by ever more powerful flapping movements in such a way as to protect the organs. The driving factors and functional adaptations of many of these transitional morphologies are as yet unclear although ontogenetic transitions in forelimb function observed in extant birds provide an excellent framework through which we can explore the behavior of Mesozoic pennaraptorans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Wu
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jingmai K. O’Connor
- Negaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, United States of America
| | - Shiying Wang
- College of Paleontology, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, China
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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9
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Yu C, Watanabe A, Qin Z, Logan King J, Witmer LM, Ma Q, Xu X. Avialan-like brain morphology in Sinovenator (Troodontidae, Theropoda). Commun Biol 2024; 7:168. [PMID: 38341492 PMCID: PMC10858883 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-05832-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Many modifications to the skull and brain anatomy occurred along the lineage encompassing non-avialan theropod dinosaurs and modern birds. Anatomical changes to the endocranium include an enlarged endocranial cavity, relatively larger optic lobes that imply elevated visual acuity, and proportionately smaller olfactory bulbs that suggest reduced olfactory capacity. Here, we use micro-computed tomographic (μCT) imaging to reconstruct the endocranium and its neuroanatomical features from an exceptionally well-preserved skull of Sinovenator changii (Troodontidae, Theropoda). While its overall morphology resembles the typical endocranium of other troodontids, Sinovenator also exhibits unique endocranial features that are similar to other paravian taxa and non-maniraptoran theropods. Landmark-based geometric morphometric analysis on endocranial shape of non-avialan and avialan dinosaurs points to the overall brain morphology of Sinovenator most closely resembling that of Archaeopteryx, thus indicating acquisition of avialan-grade brain morphology in troodontids and wide existence of such architecture in Maniraptora.
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Affiliation(s)
- Congyu Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation & Institute of Sedimentary Geology, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, China
- Key Laboratory of Deep-time Geography and Environment Reconstruction and Applications of Ministry of Natural Resources, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, China
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, 10024, USA
| | - Akinobu Watanabe
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, 10024, USA
- Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY, 11568, USA
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Zichuan Qin
- Palaeontology Research Group, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, UK
| | - J Logan King
- Palaeontology Research Group, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, UK
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Lawrence M Witmer
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio Center for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA
| | - Qingyu Ma
- Chongqing Laboratory of Geological Heritage Protection and Research, No. 208 Hydrogeological and Engineering Geological Team, Chongqing Bureau of Geology and Minerals Exploration, Chongqing, 401121, China
| | - Xing Xu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China.
- Centre for Vertebrate Evolutionary Biology, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China.
- Paleontological Museum of Liaoning, Shenyang Normal University, Liaoning Province, 253 North Huanghe Street, Shenyang, 110034, China.
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10
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Hattori S, Shibata M, Kawabe S, Imai T, Nishi H, Azuma Y. New theropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Japan provides critical implications for the early evolution of ornithomimosaurs. Sci Rep 2023; 13:13842. [PMID: 37679444 PMCID: PMC10484975 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-40804-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Ornithomimosauria consists of the ostrich-mimic dinosaurs, most of which showing cursorial adaptations, that often exhibit features indicative of herbivory. Recent discoveries have greatly improved our knowledge of their evolutionary history, including the divergence into Ornithomimidae and Deinocheiridae in the Early Cretaceous, but the early part of their history remains obscured because their fossil remains are scarce in the Aptian-Albian sediments. In recent years, many isolated ornithomimosaur remains have been recovered from the Aptian Kitadani Formation of Fukui, central Japan. These remains represent multiple individuals that share some morphological features common to them but unknown in other ornithomimosaurs, suggesting a monospecific accumulation of a new taxon. As a result of the description and phylogenetic analysis, the Kitadani ornithomimosaur is recovered as a new genus and species Tyrannomimus fukuiensis, the earliest definitive deinocheirid that complements our knowledge to understand the early evolutionary history of Ornithomimosauria. Due to its osteological similarity to Tyrannomimus, a taxon previously considered an early tyrannosauroid based on fragmentary specimens, namely Aviatyrannis jurassica, may represent the earliest ornithomimosaur from the Upper Jurassic of Europe, significantly expanding the temporal and biogeographic range of Ornithomimosauria. This finding fills a 20-million-year ghost lineage of Ornithomimosauria implied by the presence of the oldest fossil record of Maniraptora from the Middle Jurassic and is consistent with the hypothesis that their biogeographic range was widespread before the Pangaean breakup in the Kimmeridgian.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soki Hattori
- Institute of Dinosaur Research, Fukui Prefectural University, 4-1-1 Matsuoka-kenjojima, Eiheiji, Fukui, 910-1195, Japan.
- Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, 51-11, Terao, Muroko, Katsuyama, Fukui, 911-8601, Japan.
| | - Masateru Shibata
- Institute of Dinosaur Research, Fukui Prefectural University, 4-1-1 Matsuoka-kenjojima, Eiheiji, Fukui, 910-1195, Japan
- Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, 51-11, Terao, Muroko, Katsuyama, Fukui, 911-8601, Japan
| | - Soichiro Kawabe
- Institute of Dinosaur Research, Fukui Prefectural University, 4-1-1 Matsuoka-kenjojima, Eiheiji, Fukui, 910-1195, Japan
- Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, 51-11, Terao, Muroko, Katsuyama, Fukui, 911-8601, Japan
| | - Takuya Imai
- Institute of Dinosaur Research, Fukui Prefectural University, 4-1-1 Matsuoka-kenjojima, Eiheiji, Fukui, 910-1195, Japan
- Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, 51-11, Terao, Muroko, Katsuyama, Fukui, 911-8601, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Nishi
- Institute of Dinosaur Research, Fukui Prefectural University, 4-1-1 Matsuoka-kenjojima, Eiheiji, Fukui, 910-1195, Japan
- Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, 51-11, Terao, Muroko, Katsuyama, Fukui, 911-8601, Japan
| | - Yoichi Azuma
- Institute of Dinosaur Research, Fukui Prefectural University, 4-1-1 Matsuoka-kenjojima, Eiheiji, Fukui, 910-1195, Japan
- Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, 51-11, Terao, Muroko, Katsuyama, Fukui, 911-8601, Japan
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11
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Xu L, Wang M, Chen R, Dong L, Lin M, Xu X, Tang J, You H, Zhou G, Wang L, He W, Li Y, Zhang C, Zhou Z. A new avialan theropod from an emerging Jurassic terrestrial fauna. Nature 2023; 621:336-343. [PMID: 37674081 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06513-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
Birds are descended from non-avialan theropod dinosaurs of the Late Jurassic period, but the earliest phase of this evolutionary process remains unclear owing to the exceedingly sparse and spatio-temporally restricted fossil record1-5. Information about the early-diverging species along the avialan line is crucial to understand the evolution of the characteristic bird bauplan, and to reconcile phylogenetic controversies over the origin of birds3,4. Here we describe one of the stratigraphically youngest and geographically southernmost Jurassic avialans, Fujianvenator prodigiosus gen. et sp. nov., from the Tithonian age of China. This specimen exhibits an unusual set of morphological features that are shared with other stem avialans, troodontids and dromaeosaurids, showing the effects of evolutionary mosaicism in deep avialan phylogeny. F. prodigiosus is distinct from all other Mesozoic avialan and non-avialan theropods in having a particularly elongated hindlimb, suggestive of a terrestrial or wading lifestyle-in contrast with other early avialans, which exhibit morphological adaptations to arboreal or aerial environments. During our fieldwork in Zhenghe where F. prodigiosus was found, we discovered a diverse assemblage of vertebrates dominated by aquatic and semi-aquatic species, including teleosts, testudines and choristoderes. Using in situ radioisotopic dating and stratigraphic surveys, we were able to date the fossil-containing horizons in this locality-which we name the Zhenghe Fauna-to 148-150 million years ago. The diversity of the Zhenghe Fauna and its precise chronological framework will provide key insights into terrestrial ecosystems of the Late Jurassic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liming Xu
- Fujian Institute of Geological Survey, Fuzhou, China
| | - Min Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Runsheng Chen
- Fujian Institute of Geological Survey, Fuzhou, China
| | - Liping Dong
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Min Lin
- Fujian Institute of Geological Survey, Fuzhou, China
| | - Xing Xu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Centre for Vertebrate Evolutionary Biology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- Paleontological Museum of Liaoning, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, China
| | - Jianrong Tang
- Fujian Institute of Geological Survey, Fuzhou, China
| | - Hailu You
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Guowu Zhou
- Fujian Institute of Geological Survey, Fuzhou, China
| | - Linchang Wang
- Fujian Institute of Geological Survey, Fuzhou, China
| | - Wenxing He
- Fujian Institute of Geological Survey, Fuzhou, China
| | - Yujuan Li
- Fujian Institute of Geological Survey, Fuzhou, China
| | - Chi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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12
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Wang M, Zhou Z. Low morphological disparity and decelerated rate of limb size evolution close to the origin of birds. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:1257-1266. [PMID: 37277496 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02091-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The origin of birds from theropod dinosaurs involves many changes in musculoskeletal anatomy and epidermal structures, including multiple instances of convergence and homology-related traits that contribute to the refinement of flight capability. Changes in limb sizes and proportions are important for locomotion (for example, the forelimb for bird flight); thus, understanding these patterns is central to investigating the transition from terrestrial to volant theropods. Here we analyse the patterns of morphological disparity and the evolutionary rate of appendicular limbs along avialan stem lineages using phylogenetic comparative approaches. Contrary to the traditional wisdom that an evolutionary innovation like flight would promote and accelerate evolvability, our results show a shift to low disparity and decelerated rate near the origin of avialans that is largely ascribed to the evolutionarily constrained forelimb. These results suggest that natural selection shaped patterns of limb evolution close to the origin of avialans in a way that may reflect the winged forelimb 'blueprint' associated with powered flight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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13
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Yu Y, Zhang C, Xu X. Complex macroevolution of pterosaurs. Curr Biol 2023; 33:770-779.e4. [PMID: 36787747 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
Pterosaurs, the earliest flying tetrapods, are the subject of some recent quantitative macroevolutionary analyses from different perspectives.1-2 Here, we use an integrative approach involving newly assembled phylogenetic and body size datasets, net diversification rates, morphological rates, and morphological disparity to gain a holistic understanding of the pterosaur macroevolution. The first two parameters are important in quantitative analyses of macroevolution, but they have been rarely used in previous pterosaur studies.1,3,4,2,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 Our study reveals an ∼115-Ma period-from Early Triassic to Early Cretaceous-of multi-wave increasing net diversification rates and disparity, as well as high morphological rates, followed by an ∼65-Ma period-from Early Cretaceous to the end of the Cretaceous-of mostly negative net diversification rates, decreasing disparity, and relatively low morphological rates in pterosaur evolution. Our study demonstrates the following: (1) body size plays an important role in pterosaur lineage diversification during nearly their whole evolutionary history, and the evolution of locomotion, trophic, and ornamental structures also plays a role in different periods; (2) birds, the other major flying tetrapod group at the time, might have affected pterosaur macroevolution for ∼100 Ma; and (3) different mass extinction events might have affected pterosaur evolution differently. Particularly, the revealed decline in pterosaur biodiversity during the Middle and Late Cretaceous periods provides further support for the possible presence of a biodiversity decline of large-sized terrestrial amniotes starting in the mid-Cretaceous,13,14 which may have been caused by multiple factors including a global land area decrease during these periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yilun Yu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China.
| | - Xing Xu
- Centre for Vertebrate Evolutionary Biology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China; Shenyang Normal University, Paleontological Museum of Liaoning, Shenyang, China.
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14
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Qin Z, Liao CC, Benton MJ, Rayfield EJ. Functional space analyses reveal the function and evolution of the most bizarre theropod manual unguals. Commun Biol 2023; 6:181. [PMID: 36797463 PMCID: PMC9935540 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04552-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Maniraptoran dinosaurs include the ancestors of birds, and most used their hands for grasping and in flight, but early-branching maniraptorans had extraordinary claws of mysterious function. Alvarezsauroids had short, strong arms and hands with a stout, rock-pick-like, single functional finger. Therizinosaurians had elongate fingers with slender and sickle-like unguals, sometimes over one metre long. Here we develop a comprehensive methodological framework to investigate what the functions of these most bizarre bony claws are and how they formed. Our analysis includes finite element analysis and a newly established functional-space analysis and also involves shape and size effects in an assessment of function and evolution. We find a distinct functional divergence among manual unguals of early-branching maniraptorans, and we identify a complex relationship between their structural strength, morphological specialisations, and size changes. Our analysis reveals that efficient digging capabilities only emerged in late-branching alvarezsauroid forelimbs, rejecting the hypothesis of functional vestigial structures like T. rex. Our results also support the statement that most therizinosaurians were herbivores. However, the bizarre, huge Therizinosaurus had sickle-like unguals of such length that no mechanical function has been identified; we suggest they were decorative and lengthened by peramorphic growth linked to increased body size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zichuan Qin
- School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK.
| | - Chun-Chi Liao
- grid.9227.e0000000119573309Key Laboratory for the Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044 China
| | - Michael J. Benton
- grid.5337.20000 0004 1936 7603School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ UK
| | - Emily J. Rayfield
- grid.5337.20000 0004 1936 7603School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ UK
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15
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Griffin DK, Larkin DM, O’Connor RE, Romanov MN. Dinosaurs: Comparative Cytogenomics of Their Reptile Cousins and Avian Descendants. Animals (Basel) 2022; 13:106. [PMID: 36611715 PMCID: PMC9817885 DOI: 10.3390/ani13010106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Reptiles known as dinosaurs pervade scientific and popular culture, while interest in their genomics has increased since the 1990s. Birds (part of the crown group Reptilia) are living theropod dinosaurs. Chromosome-level genome assemblies cannot be made from long-extinct biological material, but dinosaur genome organization can be inferred through comparative genomics of related extant species. Most reptiles apart from crocodilians have both macro- and microchromosomes; comparative genomics involving molecular cytogenetics and bioinformatics has established chromosomal relationships between many species. The capacity of dinosaurs to survive multiple extinction events is now well established, and birds now have more species in comparison with any other terrestrial vertebrate. This may be due, in part, to their karyotypic features, including a distinctive karyotype of around n = 40 (~10 macro and 30 microchromosomes). Similarity in genome organization in distantly related species suggests that the common avian ancestor had a similar karyotype to e.g., the chicken/emu/zebra finch. The close karyotypic similarity to the soft-shelled turtle (n = 33) suggests that this basic pattern was mostly established before the Testudine-Archosaur divergence, ~255 MYA. That is, dinosaurs most likely had similar karyotypes and their extensive phenotypic variation may have been mediated by increased random chromosome segregation and genetic recombination, which is inherently higher in karyotypes with more and smaller chromosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Denis M. Larkin
- Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, London NW1 0TU, UK
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16
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Brownstein CD, Meyer DL, Fabbri M, Bhullar BAS, Gauthier JA. Evolutionary origins of the prolonged extant squamate radiation. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7087. [PMID: 36446761 PMCID: PMC9708687 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34217-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Squamata is the most diverse clade of terrestrial vertebrates. Although the origin of pan-squamates lies in the Triassic, the oldest undisputed members of extant clades known from nearly complete, uncrushed material come from the Cretaceous. Here, we describe three-dimensionally preserved partial skulls of two new crown lizards from the Late Jurassic of North America. Both species are placed at the base of the skink, girdled, and night lizard clade Pan-Scincoidea, which consistently occupies a position deep inside the squamate crown in both morphological and molecular phylogenies. The new lizards show that several features uniting pan-scincoids with another major lizard clade, the pan-lacertoids, in trees using morphology were convergently acquired as predicted by molecular analyses. Further, the palate of one new lizard bears a handful of ancestral saurian characteristics lost in nearly all extant squamates, revealing an underappreciated degree of complex morphological evolution in the early squamate crown. We find strong evidence for close relationships between the two new species and Cretaceous taxa from Eurasia. Together, these results suggest that early crown squamates had a wide geographic distribution and experienced complicated morphological evolution even while the Rhynchocephalia, now solely represented by the tuatara, was the dominant clade of lepidosaurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chase D. Brownstein
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT USA ,Stamford Museum and Nature Center, Stamford, CT USA
| | - Dalton L. Meyer
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT USA
| | - Matteo Fabbri
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT USA ,grid.299784.90000 0001 0476 8496Negaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL USA
| | - Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT USA ,grid.47100.320000000419368710Yale Peabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven, CT USA
| | - Jacques A. Gauthier
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT USA ,grid.47100.320000000419368710Yale Peabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven, CT USA
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17
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Naish D, Cau A. The osteology and affinities of Eotyrannus lengi, a tyrannosauroid theropod from the Wealden Supergroup of southern England. PeerJ 2022; 10:e12727. [PMID: 35821895 PMCID: PMC9271276 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2017] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Eotyrannus lengi Hutt et al., 2001 from the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation (part of the Wealden Supergroup) of the Isle of Wight, southern England, is described in detail, compared with other theropods, and evaluated in a new phylogenetic analysis. Eotyrannus is represented by a single individual that would have been c. 4.5 m long; it preserves the anterior part of the skull, a partial forelimb and pectoral girdle, various cervical, dorsal and caudal vertebrae, rib fragments, part of the ilium, and hindlimb elements excluding the femur. Lack of fusion with regard to both neurocentral and sacral sutures indicates subadult status. Eotyrannus possesses thickened, fused, pneumatic nasals with deep lateral recesses, elongate, tridactyl forelimbs and a tyrannosaurid-like scapulocoracoid. The short preantorbital ramus of the maxilla and nasals that are approximately seven times longer than they are wide show that Eotyrannus was not longirostrine. A posterodorsally inclined ridge on the ilium's lateral surface fails to reach the dorsal margin: a configuration seen elsewhere in Juratyrant. Eotyrannus is not arctometatarsalian. Autapomorphies include the presence of curving furrows on the dentary, a block-like humeral entepicondyle, and a distoproximally aligned channel close to the distolateral border of the tibia. Within Tyrannosauroidea, E. lengi is phylogenetically intermediate between Proceratosauridae and Yutyrannus and the clade that includes Xiongguanlong, Megaraptora, Dryptosaurus and Tyrannosauridae. We do not find support for a close affinity between Eotyrannus and Juratyrant. Our analysis supports the inclusion of Megaraptora within Tyrannosauroidea and thus increases Cretaceous tyrannosauroid diversity and disparity. A proposal that Eotyrannus might belong within Megaraptora, however, is based on character states not present in the taxon. Several theropods from the Wessex Formation are based on material that overlaps with the E. lengi holotype but none can be shown to be synonymous with it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darren Naish
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
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18
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Scanes CG, Witt J, Ebeling M, Schaller S, Baier V, Bone AJ, Preuss TG, Heckmann D. Quantitative Comparison of Avian and Mammalian Physiologies for Parameterization of Physiologically Based Kinetic Models. Front Physiol 2022; 13:858386. [PMID: 35450159 PMCID: PMC9016154 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.858386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Physiologically based kinetic (PBK) models facilitate chemical risk assessment by predicting in vivo exposure while reducing the need for animal testing. PBK models for mammals have seen significant progress, which has yet to be achieved for avian systems. Here, we quantitatively compare physiological, metabolic and anatomical characteristics between birds and mammals, with the aim of facilitating bird PBK model development. For some characteristics, there is considerable complementarity between avian and mammalian species with identical values for the following: blood hemoglobin and hemoglobin concentrations per unit erythrocyte volume together with relative weights of the liver, heart, and lungs. There are also systematic differences for some major characteristics between avian and mammalian species including erythrocyte volume, plasma concentrations of albumin, total protein and triglyceride together with liver cell size and relative weights of the kidney, spleen, and ovary. There are also major differences between characteristics between sexually mature and sexually immature female birds. For example, the relative weights of the ovary and oviduct are greater in sexually mature females compared to immature birds as are the plasma concentrations of triglyceride and vitellogenin. Both these sets of differences reflect the genetic "blue print" inherited from ancestral archosaurs such as the production of large eggs with yolk filled oocytes surrounded by egg white proteins, membranes and a calciferous shell together with adaptions for flight in birds or ancestrally in flightless birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colin G. Scanes
- Department of Poultry Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, United States
- Department of Biological Science, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, United States
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19
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Subaqueous foraging among carnivorous dinosaurs. Nature 2022; 603:852-857. [PMID: 35322229 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04528-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Secondary aquatic adaptations evolved independently more than 30 times from terrestrial vertebrate ancestors1,2. For decades, non-avian dinosaurs were believed to be an exception to this pattern. Only a few species have been hypothesized to be partly or predominantly aquatic3-11. However, these hypotheses remain controversial12,13, largely owing to the difficulty of identifying unambiguous anatomical adaptations for aquatic habits in extinct animals. Here we demonstrate that the relationship between bone density and aquatic ecologies across extant amniotes provides a reliable inference of aquatic habits in extinct species. We use this approach to evaluate the distribution of aquatic adaptations among non-avian dinosaurs. We find strong support for aquatic habits in spinosaurids, associated with a marked increase in bone density, which precedes the evolution of more conspicuous anatomical modifications, a pattern also observed in other aquatic reptiles and mammals14-16. Spinosaurids are revealed to be aquatic specialists with surprising ecological disparity, including subaqueous foraging behaviour in Spinosaurus and Baryonyx, and non-diving habits in Suchomimus. Adaptation to aquatic environments appeared in spinosaurids during the Early Cretaceous, following their divergence from other tetanuran theropods during the Early Jurassic17.
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20
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Hendrickx C, Bell PR, Pittman M, Milner ARC, Cuesta E, O'Connor J, Loewen M, Currie PJ, Mateus O, Kaye TG, Delcourt R. Morphology and distribution of scales, dermal ossifications, and other non-feather integumentary structures in non-avialan theropod dinosaurs. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2022; 97:960-1004. [PMID: 34991180 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Modern birds are typified by the presence of feathers, complex evolutionary innovations that were already widespread in the group of theropod dinosaurs (Maniraptoriformes) that include crown Aves. Squamous or scaly reptilian-like skin is, however, considered the plesiomorphic condition for theropods and dinosaurs more broadly. Here, we review the morphology and distribution of non-feathered integumentary structures in non-avialan theropods, covering squamous skin and naked skin as well as dermal ossifications. The integumentary record of non-averostran theropods is limited to tracks, which ubiquitously show a covering of tiny reticulate scales on the plantar surface of the pes. This is consistent also with younger averostran body fossils, which confirm an arthral arrangement of the digital pads. Among averostrans, squamous skin is confirmed in Ceratosauria (Carnotaurus), Allosauroidea (Allosaurus, Concavenator, Lourinhanosaurus), Compsognathidae (Juravenator), and Tyrannosauroidea (Santanaraptor, Albertosaurus, Daspletosaurus, Gorgosaurus, Tarbosaurus, Tyrannosaurus), whereas dermal ossifications consisting of sagittate and mosaic osteoderms are restricted to Ceratosaurus. Naked, non-scale bearing skin is found in the contentious tetanuran Sciurumimus, ornithomimosaurians (Ornithomimus) and possibly tyrannosauroids (Santanaraptor), and also on the patagia of scansoriopterygids (Ambopteryx, Yi). Scales are surprisingly conservative among non-avialan theropods compared to some dinosaurian groups (e.g. hadrosaurids); however, the limited preservation of tegument on most specimens hinders further interrogation. Scale patterns vary among and/or within body regions in Carnotaurus, Concavenator and Juravenator, and include polarised, snake-like ventral scales on the tail of the latter two genera. Unusual but more uniformly distributed patterning also occurs in Tyrannosaurus, whereas feature scales are present only in Albertosaurus and Carnotaurus. Few theropods currently show compelling evidence for the co-occurrence of scales and feathers (e.g. Juravenator, Sinornithosaurus), although reticulate scales were probably retained on the mani and pedes of many theropods with a heavy plumage. Feathers and filamentous structures appear to have replaced widespread scaly integuments in maniraptorans. Theropod skin, and that of dinosaurs more broadly, remains a virtually untapped area of study and the appropriation of commonly used techniques in other palaeontological fields to the study of skin holds great promise for future insights into the biology, taphonomy and relationships of these extinct animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christophe Hendrickx
- Unidad Ejecutora Lillo, CONICET-Fundación Miguel Lillo, 251 Miguel Lillo, San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, 4000, Argentina
| | - Phil R Bell
- School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351, Australia
| | - Michael Pittman
- Vertebrate Palaeontology Laboratory, Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, SAR, China.,Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew R C Milner
- St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm, 2180 East Riverside Drive, St. George, UT, U.S.A
| | - Elena Cuesta
- Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, Munich, 80333, Germany
| | - Jingmai O'Connor
- Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, 60605, U.S.A
| | - Mark Loewen
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Frederick Albert Sutton Building, 115 South 1460 East, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, U.S.A.,Natural History Museum of Utah, 301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108, U.S.A
| | - Philip J Currie
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Octávio Mateus
- GeoBioTec, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Caparica, Portugal.,Museu da Lourinhã, 95 Rua João Luis de Moura, Lourinhã, 2530-158, Portugal
| | - Thomas G Kaye
- Foundation for Scientific Advancement, 7023 Alhambra Dr., Sierra Vista, AZ, 85650, U.S.A
| | - Rafael Delcourt
- Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Instituto de Geociências, Cidade Universitária, Rua Carlos Gomes, 250, Campinas, SP, 13083-855, Brazil
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21
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Cau A, Madzia D. The phylogenetic affinities and morphological peculiarities of the bird-like dinosaur Borogovia gracilicrus from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia. PeerJ 2021; 9:e12640. [PMID: 34963824 PMCID: PMC8656384 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Borogovia gracilicrus is a small-bodied theropod dinosaur from the Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) Nemegt Formation of southern Mongolia. The taxon is based on a single fragmentary specimen preserving only the distal part of the hindlimbs. The morphology of Borogovia shows a peculiar combination of features, some of which are traditionally considered troodontid synapomorphies and others which are unusual for Troodontidae but are shared with other maniraptoran clades. In particular, the second toe of B. gracilicrus differs from other troodontids in lacking some of the features which contribute to the specialized 'sickle-clawed' second toe, here termed the 'falciphoran condition', shared with dromaeosaurids and some other paravians, such as the strongly compressed and falciform ungual. Phylogeny reconstructions intended to explore the affinities of Borogovia consistently support its referral within a subclade of troodontids including all Late Cretaceous taxa. The placement of Borogovia is not significantly affected by its unusual combinations of hindlimb features or by the homoplasy of the elements forming the falciphoran condition. Borogovia is supported as a valid taxon and is distinct from the other Nemegt troodontids, Tochisaurus and Zanabazar. The lack of a falciform ungual, and the distinctive morphology of the second toe in B. gracilicrus are interpreted as a derived specialization among Troodontidae and not as retention of the plesiomorphic condition of non-paravian theropods.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel Madzia
- Department of Evolutionary Paleobiology, Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
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22
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Napoli JG, Ruebenstahl AA, Bhullar BAS, Turner AH, Norell MA. A New Dromaeosaurid (Dinosauria: Coelurosauria) from Khulsan, Central Mongolia. AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES 2021. [DOI: 10.1206/3982.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- James G. Napoli
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, New York
| | | | | | - Alan H. Turner
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, New York
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23
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Plateau O, Foth C. Common Patterns of Skull Bone Fusion and Their Potential to Discriminate Different Ontogenetic Stages in Extant Birds. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.737199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The degree of sutural closure between bones generally allows for the classification of skeleton maturity in tetrapods. In mammals, the sutural closure of skull bones was previously used as proxy to evaluate the ontogenetic stage of single individuals. However, due to temporal variation, this process can be only applied among mammalian subclades, but not for all mammals in general. In contrast, the process of sutural closures in bird skulls could be a more reliable ontogenetic proxy for this clade as adult birds commonly show a generally high degree of bone fusion. To test this, we studied the process of sutural closure in ontogenetic series of 18 extant bird species regarding the presence of an ontogenetic signal and compared the results with changes in skull size and proportions. Univariate analyses indicate that bone fusion happens faster in altricial than in precocial birds. However, the use of PCoA and multivariate regressions reveal that the skull bone fusion follows a common pattern among birds and thus can be used as proxy to identify different ontogenetic stages. In general, the process of sutural closure spreads from posterior to anterior and from ventral to dorsal. In contrast, skull measurements reflect rather interspecific allometry than ontogeny. The used of bone fusion as proxy will help to better identify and compare different stages of maturation in birds, including historical material from osteological collections.
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Abstract
Reconstructing the history of biodiversity has been hindered by often-separate analyses of stem and crown groups of the clades in question that are not easily understood within the same unified evolutionary framework. Here, we investigate the evolutionary history of birds by analyzing three supertrees that combine published phylogenies of both stem and crown birds. Our analyses reveal three distinct large-scale increases in the diversification rate across bird evolutionary history. The first increase, which began between 160 and 170 Ma and reached its peak between 130 and 135 Ma, corresponds to an accelerated morphological evolutionary rate associated with the locomotory systems among early stem birds. This radiation resulted in morphospace occupation that is larger and different from their close dinosaurian relatives, demonstrating the occurrence of a radiation among early stem birds. The second increase, which started ∼90 Ma and reached its peak between 65 and 55 Ma, is associated with rapid evolution of the cranial skeleton among early crown birds, driven differently from the first radiation. The third increase, which occurred after ∼40 to 45 Ma, has yet to be supported by quantitative morphological data but gains some support from the fossil record. Our analyses indicate that the bird biodiversity evolution was influenced mainly by long-term climatic changes and also by major paleobiological events such as the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction.
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Poust AW, Bogar L, Robinson WD, Poole G. A Framework for Investigating Rules of Life Across Disciplines. Integr Comp Biol 2021; 61:2208-2217. [PMID: 34351423 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icab175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Clearly and usefully defining the Rules of Life has long been an attractive yet elusive prospect for biologists. Life persists because requirements for existence and successful transmission of hereditary information are met. These requirements are met through mechanisms adopted by organisms, which produce solutions to environmentally imposed constraints on life. Yet, constraints and their suites of potential solutions are typically context-specific, operating at specific levels of organization, or holons, and having cascading effects across multiple levels, or the holarchy. We explore the idea that the interaction of constraints, mechanisms, and requirements within and across levels of organization may produce rules of life that can be productively defined. Although we stop short of listing specific rules, we provide a conceptual framework within which progress toward identifying rules might be made.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Laura Bogar
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106
| | - W Douglas Robinson
- Oak Creek Lab of Biology, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | - Geoffrey Poole
- Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717-3120
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Doran Brownstein C. Dinosaurs from the Santonian-Campanian Atlantic coastline substantiate phylogenetic signatures of vicariance in Cretaceous North America. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:210127. [PMID: 34457333 PMCID: PMC8385347 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
During the Cretaceous, diversifications and turnovers affected terrestrial vertebrates experiencing the effects of global geographical change. However, the poor fossil record from the early Late Cretaceous has concealed how dinosaurs and other terrestrial vertebrates responded to these events. I describe two dinosaurs from the Santonian to Early Campanian of the obscure North American paleolandmass Appalachia. A revised look at a large, potentially novel theropod shows that it likely belongs to a new clade of tyrannosauroids solely from Appalachia. Another partial skeleton belongs to an early member of the Hadrosauridae, a highly successful clade of herbivorous dinosaurs. This skeleton is associated with the first small juvenile dinosaur specimens from the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The tyrannosauroid and hadrosaurid substantiate one of the only Late Santonian dinosaur faunas and help pinpoint the timing of important anatomical innovations in two widespread dinosaur lineages. The phylogenetic positions of the tyrannosauroid and hadrosaurid show Santonian Appalachian dinosaur faunas are comparable to coeval Eurasian ones, and the presence of clades formed only by Appalachian dinosaur taxa establishes a degree of endemism in Appalachian dinosaur assemblages attributable to episodes of vicariance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chase Doran Brownstein
- Stamford Museum and Nature Center, Stamford, CT, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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27
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Wang S, Zhang Q, Tan Q, Jiangzuo Q, Zhang H, Tan L. New troodontid theropod specimen from Inner Mongolia, China clarifies phylogenetic relationships of later‐diverging small‐bodied troodontids and paravian body size evolution. Cladistics 2021; 38:59-82. [DOI: 10.1111/cla.12467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Shuo Wang
- Department of Pathology, Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California Los Angeles CA90033USA
| | - Qiyue Zhang
- College of Life Sciences Nankai University Tianjin300071China
| | - Qingwei Tan
- Long Hao Institute of Geology and Paleontology Hohhot Nei Mongol010010China
| | - Qigao Jiangzuo
- Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, School of Earth and Space Sciences Peking University 5 Yiheyuan Road Beijing100871China
| | - Huitao Zhang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Imaging Technology Capital Normal University Beijing100048China
| | - Lin Tan
- Long Hao Institute of Geology and Paleontology Hohhot Nei Mongol010010China
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28
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Qin Z, Zhao Q, Choiniere JN, Clark JM, Benton MJ, Xu X. Growth and miniaturization among alvarezsauroid dinosaurs. Curr Biol 2021; 31:3687-3693.e5. [PMID: 34233160 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Sustained miniaturization, here defined as a drop in body size of at least two orders of magnitude from ancestors to descendants, is a widespread and important phenomenon in animals,1-3 but among dinosaurs, miniaturization occurred only rarely, once in the lineage leading to birds and once in the Alvarezsauroidea,1,3-5 one of the most bizarre theropod groups.1,5-7 Miniaturization and powered flight are intimately linked in avialan theropods,3,5,6,8-11 but the causes and patterns of body size reduction are less clear in the non-volant Alvarezsauroidea.1,5,6,12,13 Here, we present results from analyses on a comprehensive dataset, which not only includes new data from early-branching alvarezsauroids but also considers the ontogenetic effect based on histological data. Our analyses show that alvarezsauroid body mass underwent rapid miniaturization from around 110 to 85 mya and that there was a phylogenetic radiation of small-sized alvarezsauroids in the Late Cretaceous. Our analyses also indicate that growth strategies were highly variable among alvarezsauroids, with significant differences among extremely small taxa. The suggested alvarezsauroid miniaturization and associated phylogenetic radiation are coincident with the emergence of ants and termites, and combining previous functional morphological data, our study suggests that alvarezsauroid miniaturization might have been driven by ecological changes during the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution, more specifically by a shift to the myrmecophagous ecological niche.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zichuan Qin
- School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Qi Zhao
- Key Laboratory for the Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; CAS Center of Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Jonah N Choiniere
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - James M Clark
- Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Michael J Benton
- School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Xing Xu
- Key Laboratory for the Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; CAS Center of Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, China.
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29
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Bi S, Amiot R, Peyre de Fabrègues C, Pittman M, Lamanna MC, Yu Y, Yu C, Yang T, Zhang S, Zhao Q, Xu X. An oviraptorid preserved atop an embryo-bearing egg clutch sheds light on the reproductive biology of non-avialan theropod dinosaurs. Sci Bull (Beijing) 2021; 66:947-954. [PMID: 36654242 DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2020.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Revised: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies demonstrate that many avialan features evolved incrementally prior to the origin of the group, but the presence of some of these features, such as bird-like brooding behaviours, remains contentious in non-avialan dinosaurs. Here we report the first non-avialan dinosaur fossil known to preserve an adult skeleton atop an egg clutch that contains embryonic remains. The preserved positional relationship of the adult to the clutch, coupled with the advanced growth stages of the embryos and their high estimated incubation temperatures, provides strong support for the brooding hypothesis. Furthermore, embryos in the clutch are at different developmental stages, suggesting the presence of asynchronous hatching-a derived feature even among crown-group birds-in non-avialan theropods. These findings demonstrate that the evolution of reproductive biology along bird-line archosaurs was a complex rather than a linear and incremental process, and suggest that some aspects of non-avialan theropod reproduction were unique to these dinosaurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shundong Bi
- Centre for Vertebrate Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; Department of Biology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA 15705, USA.
| | - Romain Amiot
- Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, ENSL, CNRS, LGL-TPE, Villeurbanne, F-69622, France
| | - Claire Peyre de Fabrègues
- Centre for Vertebrate Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
| | - Michael Pittman
- Vertebrate Palaeontology Laboratory, Division of Earth and Planetary Science, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Matthew C Lamanna
- Section of Vertebrate Paleontology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Yilun Yu
- Yuanpei College, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Congyu Yu
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Tzuruei Yang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Shukang Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Qi Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Xing Xu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China.
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30
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Legendre LJ, Clarke JA. Shifts in eggshell thickness are related to changes in locomotor ecology in dinosaurs. Evolution 2021; 75:1415-1430. [PMID: 33913155 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Revised: 03/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Birds share an array of unique characteristics among extant land vertebrates. Among these, external and microstructural characteristics of extant bird eggs have been linked to changes in reproductive strategy that arose among non-avian theropod dinosaurs. More recently, differences in egg proportions recovered in crown birds relative to other dinosaurs were suggested as possibly linked to avian flight, but dense sampling close to its proposed origin was lacking. Here we assess the evolution of eggshell thickness in a targeted sample of 114 dinosaurs including birds, and test the relationship of eggshell thickness with potential life history correlates and locomotor mode using phylogenetic comparative methods. Only egg mass and flight are identified as significant predictors of eggshell thickness. While a high correlation between egg mass and eggshell thickness is expected, that relationship is much stronger in flying taxa, which show a significantly higher slope and lower residual variance than flightless species. This suggests stabilizing selection of eggshell thickness among theropods, as recovered for other traits in extant birds (e.g. genome size, metabolic rate). Within living birds, Eufalconimorphae present an apomorphic increase in relative eggshell thickness which remains unexplained, as few morphological synapomorphies of this clade have been identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas J Legendre
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Julia A Clarke
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
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31
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Shelley SL, Brusatte SL, Williamson TE. Quantitative assessment of tarsal morphology illuminates locomotor behaviour in Palaeocene mammals following the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210393. [PMID: 33977789 PMCID: PMC8114852 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Mammals exhibit vast ecological diversity, including a panoply of locomotor behaviours. The foundations of this diversity were established in the Mesozoic, but it was only after the end-Cretaceous mass extinction that mammals began to increase in body size, diversify into many new species and establish the extant orders. Little is known about the palaeobiology of the mammals that diversified immediately after the extinction during the Palaeocene, which are often perceived as ‘archaic’ precursors to extant orders. Here, we investigate the locomotor ecology of Palaeocene mammals using multivariate and disparity analyses. We show that tarsal measurements can be used to infer locomotor mode in extant mammals, and then demonstrate that Palaeocene mammals occupy distinctive regions of tarsal morphospace relative to Cretaceous and extant therian mammals, that is distinguished by their morphological robustness. We find that many Palaeocene species exhibit tarsal morphologies most comparable with morphologies of extant ground-dwelling mammals. Disparity analyses indicate that Palaeocene mammals attained similar morphospace diversity to the extant sample. Our results show that mammals underwent a post-extinction adaptive radiation in tarsal morphology relating to locomotor behaviour by combining a basic eutherian bauplan with anatomical specializations to attain considerable ecomorphological diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L Shelley
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,Section of Mammals, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, USA
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32
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Hanson M, Hoffman EA, Norell MA, Bhullar BAS. The early origin of a birdlike inner ear and the evolution of dinosaurian movement and vocalization. Science 2021; 372:601-609. [PMID: 33958471 DOI: 10.1126/science.abb4305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Reptiles, including birds, exhibit a range of behaviorally relevant adaptations that are reflected in changes to the structure of the inner ear. These adaptations include the capacity for flight and sensitivity to high-frequency sound. We used three-dimensional morphometric analyses of a large sample of extant and extinct reptiles to investigate inner ear correlates of locomotor ability and hearing acuity. Statistical analyses revealed three vestibular morphotypes, best explained by three locomotor categories-quadrupeds, bipeds and simple fliers (including bipedal nonavialan dinosaurs), and high-maneuverability fliers. Troodontids fall with Archaeopteryx among the extant low-maneuverability fliers. Analyses of cochlear shape revealed a single instance of elongation, on the stem of Archosauria. We suggest that this transformation coincided with the origin of both high-pitched juvenile location, alarm, and hatching-synchronization calls and adult responses to them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Hanson
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.,Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Eva A Hoffman
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Bhart-Anjan S Bhullar
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. .,Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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33
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Rhodes MM, Henderson DM, Currie PJ. Maniraptoran pelvic musculature highlights evolutionary patterns in theropod locomotion on the line to birds. PeerJ 2021; 9:e10855. [PMID: 33717681 PMCID: PMC7937347 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Locomotion is a fundamental aspect of palaeobiology and often investigated by comparing osteological structures and proportions. Previous studies document a stepwise accumulation of avian-like features in theropod dinosaurs that accelerates in the clade Maniraptora. However, the soft tissues that influenced the skeleton offer another perspective on locomotory adaptations. Examination of the pelvis for osteological correlates of hind limb and tail musculature allowed reconstruction of primary locomotory muscles across theropods and their closest extant relatives. Additionally, the areas of pelvic muscle origins were quantified to measure relative differences within and between taxa, to compare morphological features associated with cursoriality, and offer insight into the evolution of locomotor modules. Locomotory inferences based on myology often corroborate those based on osteology, although they occasionally conflict and indicate greater complexity than previously appreciated. Maniraptoran pelvic musculature underscores previous studies noting the multifaceted nature of cursoriality and suggests that a more punctuated step in caudal decoupling occurred at or near the base of Maniraptora.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew M Rhodes
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | | | - Philip J Currie
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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Wang M, Lloyd GT, Zhang C, Zhou Z. The patterns and modes of the evolution of disparity in Mesozoic birds. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20203105. [PMID: 33529566 PMCID: PMC7893231 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.3105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The origin of birds from non-avian theropod dinosaurs is one of the greatest transitions in evolution. Shortly after diverging from other theropods in the Late Jurassic, Mesozoic birds diversified into two major clades-the Enantiornithes and Ornithuromorpha-acquiring many features previously considered unique to the crown group along the way. Here, we present a comparative phylogenetic study of the patterns and modes of Mesozoic bird skeletal morphology and limb proportions. Our results show that the major Mesozoic avian groups are distinctive in discrete character space, but constrained in a morphospace defined by limb proportions. The Enantiornithines, despite being the most speciose group of Mesozoic birds, are much less morphologically disparate than their sister clade, the Ornithuromorpha-the clade that gave rise to living birds, showing disparity and diversity were decoupled in avian history. This relatively low disparity suggests that diversification of enantiornithines was characterized in exhausting fine morphologies, whereas ornithuromorphs continuously explored a broader array of morphologies and ecological opportunities. We suggest this clade-specific evolutionary versatility contributed to their sole survival of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
| | - Graeme T. Lloyd
- School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JY, UK
| | - Chi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
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35
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Dececchi TA, Roy A, Pittman M, Kaye TG, Xu X, Habib MB, Larsson HC, Wang X, Zheng X. Aerodynamics Show Membrane-Winged Theropods Were a Poor Gliding Dead-end. iScience 2020; 23:101574. [PMID: 33376962 PMCID: PMC7756141 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The bizarre scansoriopterygid theropods Yi and Ambopteryx had skin stretched between elongate fingers that form a potential membranous wing. This wing is thought to have been used in aerial locomotion, but this has never been tested. Using laser-stimulated fluorescence imaging, we re-evaluate their anatomy and perform aerodynamic calculations covering flight potential, other wing-based behaviors, and gliding capabilities. We find that Yi and Ambopteryx were likely arboreal, highly unlikely to have any form of powered flight, and had significant deficiencies in flapping-based locomotion and limited gliding abilities. Our results show that Scansoriopterygidae are not models for the early evolution of bird flight, and their structurally distinct wings differed greatly from contemporaneous paravians, supporting multiple independent origins of flight. We propose that Scansoriopterygidae represents a unique but failed flight architecture of non-avialan theropods and that the evolutionary race to capture vertebrate aerial morphospace in the Middle to Late Jurassic was dynamic and complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- T. Alexander Dececchi
- Department of Biology, Division of Natural Sciences, Mount Marty University, Yankton, SD, USA
| | - Arindam Roy
- Vertebrate Palaeontology Laboratory, Division of Earth and Planetary Science, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Michael Pittman
- Vertebrate Palaeontology Laboratory, Division of Earth and Planetary Science, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Thomas G. Kaye
- Foundation for Scientific Advancement, Sierra Vista, AZ, USA
| | - Xing Xu
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology & Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Michael B. Habib
- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Xiaoli Wang
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi City, Shandong, China
| | - Xiaoting Zheng
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi City, Shandong, China
- Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi, Shandong, China
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Simões TR, Caldwell MW, Pierce SE. Sphenodontian phylogeny and the impact of model choice in Bayesian morphological clock estimates of divergence times and evolutionary rates. BMC Biol 2020; 18:191. [PMID: 33287835 PMCID: PMC7720557 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-020-00901-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2020] [Accepted: 10/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The vast majority of all life that ever existed on earth is now extinct and several aspects of their evolutionary history can only be assessed by using morphological data from the fossil record. Sphenodontian reptiles are a classic example, having an evolutionary history of at least 230 million years, but currently represented by a single living species (Sphenodon punctatus). Hence, it is imperative to improve the development and implementation of probabilistic models to estimate evolutionary trees from morphological data (e.g., morphological clocks), which has direct benefits to understanding relationships and evolutionary patterns for both fossil and living species. However, the impact of model choice on morphology-only datasets has been poorly explored. RESULTS Here, we investigate the impact of a wide array of model choices on the inference of evolutionary trees and macroevolutionary parameters (divergence times and evolutionary rates) using a new data matrix on sphenodontian reptiles. Specifically, we tested different clock models, clock partitioning, taxon sampling strategies, sampling for ancestors, and variations on the fossilized birth-death (FBD) tree model parameters through time. We find a strong impact on divergence times and background evolutionary rates when applying widely utilized approaches, such as allowing for ancestors in the tree and the inappropriate assumption of diversification parameters being constant through time. We compare those results with previous studies on the impact of model choice to molecular data analysis and provide suggestions for improving the implementation of morphological clocks. Optimal model combinations find the radiation of most major lineages of sphenodontians to be in the Triassic and a gradual but continuous drop in morphological rates of evolution across distinct regions of the phenotype throughout the history of the group. CONCLUSIONS We provide a new hypothesis of sphenodontian classification, along with detailed macroevolutionary patterns in the evolutionary history of the group. Importantly, we provide suggestions to avoid overestimated divergence times and biased parameter estimates using morphological clocks. Partitioning relaxed clocks offers methodological limitations, but those can be at least partially circumvented to reveal a detailed assessment of rates of evolution across the phenotype and tests of evolutionary mosaicism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago R Simões
- Museum of Comparative Zoology & Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
| | - Michael W Caldwell
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Stephanie E Pierce
- Museum of Comparative Zoology & Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
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Cullen TM, Canale JI, Apesteguía S, Smith ND, Hu D, Makovicky PJ. Osteohistological analyses reveal diverse strategies of theropod dinosaur body-size evolution. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20202258. [PMID: 33234083 PMCID: PMC7739506 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 08/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The independent evolution of gigantism among dinosaurs has been a topic of long-standing interest, but it remains unclear if gigantic theropods, the largest bipeds in the fossil record, all achieved massive sizes in the same manner, or through different strategies. We perform multi-element histological analyses on a phylogenetically broad dataset sampled from eight theropod families, with a focus on gigantic tyrannosaurids and carcharodontosaurids, to reconstruct the growth strategies of these lineages and test if particular bones consistently preserve the most complete growth record. We find that in skeletally mature gigantic theropods, weight-bearing bones consistently preserve extensive growth records, whereas non-weight-bearing bones are remodelled and less useful for growth reconstruction, contrary to the pattern observed in smaller theropods and some other dinosaur clades. We find a heterochronic pattern of growth fitting an acceleration model in tyrannosaurids, with allosauroid carcharodontosaurids better fitting a model of hypermorphosis. These divergent growth patterns appear phylogenetically constrained, representing extreme versions of the growth patterns present in smaller coelurosaurs and allosauroids, respectively. This provides the first evidence of a lack of strong mechanistic or physiological constraints on size evolution in the largest bipeds in the fossil record and evidence of one of the longest-living individual dinosaurs ever documented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas M. Cullen
- Nauganee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60605, USA
- Paleontology, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, 11 W. Jones St, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, 100 Brooks Ave., Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
| | - Juan I. Canale
- CONICET, Área Laboratorio e Investigación, Museo Municipal ‘Ernesto Bachmann’, Villa El Chocón, Neuquén, Argentina
| | - Sebastián Apesteguía
- CONICET, Área de Paleontología, Fundación de Historia Natural Félix de Azara, CEBBAD, Universidad Maimónides, Hidalgo 775, 1405 Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Nathan D. Smith
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
| | - Dongyu Hu
- Shenyang Normal University, Paleontological Museum of Liaoning, Key Laboratory for Evolution of Past Life and Change of Past Environment, Liaoning Province and Ministry of Natural Resources, 253 North Huanghe Street, 110034 Shenyang, People's Republic of China
| | - Peter J. Makovicky
- Nauganee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60605, USA
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, 116 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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38
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O'Connor PM, Turner AH, Groenke JR, Felice RN, Rogers RR, Krause DW, Rahantarisoa LJ. Late Cretaceous bird from Madagascar reveals unique development of beaks. Nature 2020; 588:272-276. [PMID: 33239782 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2945-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Mesozoic birds display considerable diversity in size, flight adaptations and feather organization1-4, but exhibit relatively conserved patterns of beak shape and development5-7. Although Neornithine (that is, crown group) birds also exhibit constraint on facial development8,9, they have comparatively diverse beak morphologies associated with a range of feeding and behavioural ecologies, in contrast to Mesozoic birds. Here we describe a crow-sized stem bird, Falcatakely forsterae gen. et sp. nov., from the Late Cretaceous epoch of Madagascar that possesses a long and deep rostrum, an expression of beak morphology that was previously unknown among Mesozoic birds and is superficially similar to that of a variety of crown-group birds (for example, toucans). The rostrum of Falcatakely is composed of an expansive edentulous maxilla and a small tooth-bearing premaxilla. Morphometric analyses of individual bony elements and three-dimensional rostrum shape reveal the development of a neornithine-like facial anatomy despite the retention of a maxilla-premaxilla organization that is similar to that of nonavialan theropods. The patterning and increased height of the rostrum in Falcatakely reveals a degree of developmental lability and increased morphological disparity that was previously unknown in early branching avialans. Expression of this phenotype (and presumed ecology) in a stem bird underscores that consolidation to the neornithine-like, premaxilla-dominated rostrum was not an evolutionary prerequisite for beak enlargement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick M O'Connor
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA. .,Ohio Center for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA. .,Department of Earth Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO, USA.
| | - Alan H Turner
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Joseph R Groenke
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA
| | - Ryan N Felice
- Centre for Integrative Anatomy, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Raymond R Rogers
- Department of Earth Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO, USA.,Geology Department, Macalester College, St Paul, MN, USA
| | - David W Krause
- Department of Earth Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO, USA.,Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Lydia J Rahantarisoa
- Département de Sciences de la Terre et de l'Environnement, Université d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
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39
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Flores JR. Taxon incompleteness and discrete time bins affect character change rates in simulated data. Biol Lett 2020; 16:20200418. [PMID: 33171076 PMCID: PMC7728684 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Estimating how fast or slow morphology evolves through time (phenotypic change rate, PR) has become common in macroevolutionary studies and has been important for clarifying key evolutionary events. However, the inclusion of incompletely scored taxa (e.g. fossils) and variable lengths of discrete arbitrary time bins could affect PR estimates and potentially mask real PR patterns. Here, the impact of taxon incompleteness (unscored data) on PR estimates is assessed in simulated data. Three different time bin series were likewise evaluated: bins evenly spanning the tree length (i), a shorter middle bin and longer first and third bins (ii), and a longer middle bin and shorter first and third bins (iii). The results indicate that PR values decrease as taxon incompleteness increases. Statistically significant PR values, and the dispersion among PR values, depended on the time bins. These outcomes imply that taxon incompleteness can undermine our capacity to infer morphology evolutionary dynamics and that these estimates are also influenced by our choice of discrete time bins. More importantly, the present results stress the need for a better approach to deal with taxon incompleteness and arbitrary discrete time bins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge R. Flores
- Finnish Museum of Natural History (Botany), University of Helsinki, PO Box 7, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
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40
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Potential for Powered Flight Neared by Most Close Avialan Relatives, but Few Crossed Its Thresholds. Curr Biol 2020; 30:4033-4046.e8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.06.105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2019] [Revised: 03/19/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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41
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Felice RN, Watanabe A, Cuff AR, Hanson M, Bhullar BAS, Rayfield ER, Witmer LM, Norell MA, Goswami A. Decelerated dinosaur skull evolution with the origin of birds. PLoS Biol 2020; 18:e3000801. [PMID: 32810126 PMCID: PMC7437466 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolutionary radiation of birds has produced incredible morphological variation, including a huge range of skull form and function. Investigating how this variation arose with respect to non-avian dinosaurs is key to understanding how birds achieved their remarkable success after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. Using a high-dimensional geometric morphometric approach, we quantified the shape of the skull in unprecedented detail across 354 extant and 37 extinct avian and non-avian dinosaurs. Comparative analyses reveal fundamental differences in how skull shape evolved in birds and non-avian dinosaurs. We find that the overall skull shape evolved faster in non-avian dinosaurs than in birds across all regions of the cranium. In birds, the anterior rostrum is the most rapidly evolving skull region, whereas more posterior regions-such as the parietal, squamosal, and quadrate-exhibited high rates in non-avian dinosaurs. These fast-evolving elements in dinosaurs are strongly associated with feeding biomechanics, forming the jaw joint and supporting the jaw adductor muscles. Rapid pulses of skull evolution coincide with changes to food acquisition strategies and diets, as well as the proliferation of bony skull ornaments. In contrast to the appendicular skeleton, which has been shown to evolve more rapidly in birds, avian cranial morphology is characterised by a striking deceleration in morphological evolution relative to non-avian dinosaurs. These results may be due to the reorganisation of skull structure in birds-including loss of a separate postorbital bone in adults and the emergence of new trade-offs with development and neurosensory demands. Taken together, the remarkable cranial shape diversity in birds was not a product of accelerated evolution from their non-avian relatives, despite their frequent portrayal as an icon of adaptive radiations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan N. Felice
- Centre for Integrative Anatomy, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Life Sciences Department, Vertebrates Division, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
| | - Akinobu Watanabe
- Life Sciences Department, Vertebrates Division, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, New York, United States of America
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Andrew R. Cuff
- Hull York Medical School, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Michael Hanson
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Emily R. Rayfield
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Lawrence M. Witmer
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Anjali Goswami
- Life Sciences Department, Vertebrates Division, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
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42
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Chiarenza AA, Fiorillo AR, Tykoski RS, McCarthy PJ, Flaig PP, Contreras DL. The first juvenile dromaeosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from Arctic Alaska. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0235078. [PMID: 32639990 PMCID: PMC7343144 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Compared to the osteological record of herbivorous dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous Prince Creek Formation of northern Alaska, there are relatively fewer remains of theropods. The theropod record from this unit is mostly comprised of isolated teeth, and the only non-dental remains known can be attributed to the troodontid cf. Troodon and the tyrannosaurid Nanuqsaurus. Thus far, the presence of members of Dromaeosauridae has been limited to isolated teeth. Here we describe a symphyseal portion of a small dentary with two ziphodont teeth. Based on tooth shape, denticle morphology, and the position of the Meckelian groove, we attribute this partial dentary to a saurornitholestine dromaeosaurid. The fibrous bone surface, small size, and higher number of mesial denticles compared to distal ones point to a juvenile growth stage for this individual. Multivariate comparison of theropod teeth morphospace by means of principal component analysis reveals an overlap between this dentary and Saurornitholestinae dromaeosaurid morphospace, a result supported by phylogenetic analyses. This is the first confirmed non-dental fossil specimen from a member of Dromaeosauridae in the Arctic, expanding on the role of Beringia as a dispersal route for this clade between Asia and North America. Furthermore, the juvenile nature of this individual adds to a growing body of data that suggests Cretaceous Arctic dinosaurs of Alaska did not undergo long-distance migration, but rather they were year-round residents of these paleopolar latitudes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
- University College London, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Anthony R. Fiorillo
- Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, United States of America
| | - Ronald S. Tykoski
- Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas, TX, United States of America
| | - Paul J. McCarthy
- Department of Geosciences, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, United States of America
| | - Peter P. Flaig
- Jackson School of Geosciences, Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - Dori L. Contreras
- Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas, TX, United States of America
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43
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Brownstein CD. Dromaeosaurid crania demonstrate the progressive loss of facial pneumaticity in coelurosaurian dinosaurs. Zool J Linn Soc 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Dinosaurs are notable for their extensive skeletal pneumaticity, a feature that may have helped facilitate the development of various ‘extreme’ body plans in this group. Despite its relevance to understanding the evolution of the avian body plan, this feature has only been described in detail for a few non-avian dinosaurs, and cranial pneumaticity outside the braincase remains poorly documented. I describe facial pneumatic features in members of the Dromaeosauridae, a clade of hypercarnivorous dinosaurs closely allied to birds. Variation in the pneumaticity of the nasals and jugals, the position and shape of the pneumatic fenestrae of the maxilla and the border of the antorbital fossa shows that facial pneumaticity differed substantially among closely related dromaeosaurids and other bird-like dinosaurs. Ancestral state reconstructions of facial pneumaticity in coelurosaurs suggest a complex evolutionary history for these features. Surprisingly, the general trend along the path towards birds was the loss or reduction of superficial pneumatic features on the snout and cheek. Some facial pneumatic features seem to have evolved secondarily in some derived bird-like forms. The results show superficial facial pneumaticity did not increase in coelurosaurs and emphasize the complexity of the evolution of pneumatization in the lineage leading to birds.
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44
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Simões TR, Vernygora O, Caldwell MW, Pierce SE. Megaevolutionary dynamics and the timing of evolutionary innovation in reptiles. Nat Commun 2020; 11:3322. [PMID: 32620878 PMCID: PMC7335191 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17190-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The origin of phenotypic diversity among higher clades is one of the most fundamental topics in evolutionary biology. However, due to methodological challenges, few studies have assessed rates of evolution and phenotypic disparity across broad scales of time to understand the evolutionary dynamics behind the origin and early evolution of new clades. Here, we provide a total-evidence dating approach to this problem in diapsid reptiles. We find major chronological gaps between periods of high evolutionary rates (phenotypic and molecular) and expansion in phenotypic disparity in reptile evolution. Importantly, many instances of accelerated phenotypic evolution are detected at the origin of major clades and body plans, but not concurrent with previously proposed periods of adaptive radiation. Furthermore, strongly heterogenic rates of evolution mark the acquisition of similarly adapted functional types, and the origin of snakes is marked by the highest rates of phenotypic evolution in diapsid history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago R Simões
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology & Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
| | - Oksana Vernygora
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Michael W Caldwell
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Stephanie E Pierce
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology & Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
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45
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Wiemann J, Crawford JM, Briggs DEG. Phylogenetic and physiological signals in metazoan fossil biomolecules. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaba6883. [PMID: 32832604 PMCID: PMC7439315 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba6883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2019] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Proteins, lipids, and sugars establish animal form and function. However, the preservation of biological signals in fossil organic matter is poorly understood. Here, we used high-resolution in situ Raman microspectroscopy to analyze the molecular compositions of 113 Phanerozoic metazoan fossils and sediments. Proteins, lipids, and sugars converge in composition during fossilization through lipoxidation and glycoxidation to form endogenous N-, O-, and S-heterocyclic polymers. Nonetheless, multivariate spectral analysis reveals molecular heterogeneities: The relative abundance of glycoxidation and lipoxidation products distinguishes different tissue types. Preserved chelating ligands are diagnostic of different modes of biomineralization. Amino acid-specific fossilization products retain phylogenetic information and capture higher-rank metazoan relationships. Molecular signals survive in deep time and provide a powerful tool for reconstructing the evolutionary history of animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmina Wiemann
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Jason M. Crawford
- Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06536, USA
- Chemical Biology Institute, Yale University, West Haven, CT 06516, USA
| | - Derek E. G. Briggs
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
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46
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Li Y, Ruta M, Wills MA. Craniodental and Postcranial Characters of Non-Avian Dinosauria Often Imply Different Trees. Syst Biol 2020; 69:638-659. [PMID: 31769837 PMCID: PMC7302058 DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syz077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2018] [Revised: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 11/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the increasing importance of molecular sequence data, morphology still makes an important contribution to resolving the phylogeny of many groups, and is the only source of data for most fossils. Most systematists sample morphological characters as broadly as possible on the principle of total evidence. However, it is not uncommon for sampling to be focused on particular aspects of anatomy, either because characters therein are believed to be more informative, or because preservation biases restrict what is available. Empirically, the optimal trees from partitions of morphological data sets often represent significantly different hypotheses of relationships. Previous work on hard-part versus soft-part characters across animal phyla revealed significant differences in about a half of sampled studies. Similarly, studies of the craniodental versus postcranial characters of vertebrates revealed significantly different trees in about one-third of cases, with the highest rates observed in non-avian dinosaurs. We test whether this is a generality here with a much larger sample of 81 published data matrices across all major dinosaur groups. Using the incongruence length difference test and two variants of the incongruence relationship difference test, we found significant incongruence in about 50% of cases. Incongruence is not uniformly distributed across major dinosaur clades, being highest (63%) in Theropoda and lowest (25%) in Thyreophora. As in previous studies, our partition tests show some sensitivity to matrix dimensions and the amount and distribution of missing entries. Levels of homoplasy and retained synapomorphy are similar between partitions, such that incongruence must partly reflect differences in patterns of homoplasy between partitions, which may itself be a function of modularity and mosaic evolution. Finally, we implement new tests to determine which partition yields trees most similar to those from the entire matrix. Despite no bias across dinosaurs overall, there are striking differences between major groups. The craniodental characters of Ornithischia and the postcranial characters of Saurischia yield trees most similar to the "total evidence" trees derived from the entire matrix. Trees from these same character partitions also tend to be most stratigraphically congruent: a mutual consilience suggesting that those partitions yield more accurate trees. [Dinosauria; homoplasy; partition homogeneity.].
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Affiliation(s)
- Yimeng Li
- Department of Biology & Biochemistry, The Milner Centre for Evolution, The University of Bath, The Avenue, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Marcello Ruta
- School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Joseph Banks Laboratories, Green Lane, Lincoln LN6 7DL, UK
| | - Matthew A Wills
- Department of Biology & Biochemistry, The Milner Centre for Evolution, The University of Bath, The Avenue, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
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47
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Crouch NMA. Extinction rates of non-avian dinosaur species are uncorrelated with the rate of evolution of phylogenetically informative characters. Biol Lett 2020; 16:20200231. [PMID: 32574533 PMCID: PMC7336841 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Determining the factors that shape temporal variation in species diversity is an ongoing challenge. One theory is that species exhibiting lower rates of phenotypic evolution should be more likely to go extinct as they are more susceptible to changing environmental conditions. However, little work has been done to assess whether this process shapes comparatively few lineages, or is a common mechanism shaping changes in species diversity. Here, I analyse the correlation between rates of morphological evolution and extinction at the species level using six published morphological matrices of non-avian dinosaurs. I find no correlation between the two rates at different taxonomic scales, suggesting that extinction in these groups is better described by other factors. As there is a strong prior expectation of correlated rates, I suggest that traditional morphological matrices are inappropriate for addressing this question and that the characters governing lineage persistence are independent of those with high phylogenetic signal. This may be comprehensively determined with continued development of phenomic matrices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas M. A. Crouch
- Department of the Geophysical Sciences, The University of Chicago, 5734 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
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48
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Motta MJ, Agnolín FL, Brissón Egli F, Novas FE. New theropod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia sheds light on the paravian radiation in Gondwana. Naturwissenschaften 2020; 107:24. [PMID: 32468191 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-020-01682-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Revised: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The fossil record of basal paravians in Gondwana is still poorly known, being limited to the Cretaceous unenlagiids from South America and the problematic Rahonavis from Madagascar. Here we report on a new paravian from the Cenomanian-Turonian (Late Cretaceous) of Río Negro province, NW Patagonia, Argentina. The new taxon exhibits a derived bird-like morphology of the forelimbs (e.g., robust ulna with prominent, anteriorly oriented, and proximally saddle-shaped radial cotyle and wide medial flange on metacarpal I) and a plesiomorphic foot with a raptorial pedal digit II. Phylogenetic analysis recovers the new taxon in a monophyletic clade with Rahonavis, being the sister group of the remaining Avialae and more derived than other non-avian dinosaurs. Both exhibit derived forelimb traits in opposition with their plesiomorphic hind limbs. The position of the new taxon and Rahonavis as stem avialans indicates that Gondwanan basal paravians are represented by two different clades, at least. The new taxon probably constitutes a previously unknown grade in the avian-line theropods in which some flight-related adaptations of the forelimbs are present in cursorial taxa. The present discovery sheds light on the acquisition of flight-related traits in non-avian dinosaurs and on the still poorly known paravian radiation in Gondwana.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matías J Motta
- Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada y Evolución de los Vertebrados, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia", Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Buenos Aires, Argentina. .,CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Federico L Agnolín
- Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada y Evolución de los Vertebrados, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia", Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Fundación de Historia Natural "Félix de Azara", Universidad Maimónides, Hidalgo 775, C1405BDB, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Federico Brissón Egli
- Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada y Evolución de los Vertebrados, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia", Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Fernando E Novas
- Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada y Evolución de los Vertebrados, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia", Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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49
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Jasinski SE, Sullivan RM, Dodson P. New Dromaeosaurid Dinosaur (Theropoda, Dromaeosauridae) from New Mexico and Biodiversity of Dromaeosaurids at the end of the Cretaceous. Sci Rep 2020; 10:5105. [PMID: 32218481 PMCID: PMC7099077 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61480-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 02/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Dromaeosaurids (Theropoda: Dromaeosauridae), a group of dynamic, swift predators, have a sparse fossil record, particularly at the time of their extinction near the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. Here we report on a new dromaeosaurid, Dineobellator notohesperus, gen. and sp. nov., consisting of a partial skeleton from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of New Mexico, the first diagnostic dromaeosaurid to be recovered from the latest Cretaceous of the southern United States (southern Laramidia). The holotype includes elements of the skull, axial, and appendicular skeleton. The specimen reveals a host of morphologies that shed light on new behavioral attributes for these feathered dinosaurs. Unique features on its forelimbs suggest greater strength capabilities in flexion than the normal dromaeosaurid condition, in conjunction with a relatively tighter grip strength in the manual claws. Aspects of the caudal vertebrae suggest greater movement near the tail base, aiding in agility and predation. Phylogenetic analysis places Dineobellator within Velociraptorinae. Its phylogenetic position, along with that of other Maastrichtian taxa (Acheroraptor and Dakotaraptor), suggests dromaeosaurids were still diversifying at the end of the Cretaceous. Furthermore, its recovery as a second North American Maastrichtian velociraptorine suggests vicariance of North American velociraptorines after a dispersal event during the Campanian-Maastrichtian from Asia. Features of Dineobellator also imply that dromaeosaurids were active predators that occupied discrete ecological niches while living in the shadow of Tyrannosaurus rex, until the end of the dinosaurs' reign.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven E Jasinski
- University of Pennsylvania, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-6316, USA.
- State Museum of Pennsylvania, Section of Paleontology and Geology, 300 North Street, Harrisburg, PA, 17120-0024, USA.
- Don Sundquist Center of Excellence in Paleontology, Johnson City, TN, 37614-1709, USA.
| | - Robert M Sullivan
- New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, 1801 Mountain Road N.W., Albuquerque, NM, 87104, USA
| | - Peter Dodson
- School of Veterinary Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-6316, USA
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50
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Koch NM, Parry LA. Death is on Our Side: Paleontological Data Drastically Modify Phylogenetic Hypotheses. Syst Biol 2020; 69:1052-1067. [DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syaa023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Fossils are the only remaining evidence of the majority of species that have ever existed, providing a direct window into events in evolutionary history that shaped the diversification of life on Earth. Phylogenies underpin our ability to make sense of evolution but are routinely inferred using only data available from living organisms. Although extinct taxa have been shown to add crucial information for inferring macroevolutionary patterns and processes (such as ancestral states, paleobiogeography and diversification dynamics), the role fossils play in reconstructing phylogeny is controversial. Since the early years of phylogenetic systematics, different studies have dismissed the impact of fossils due to their incompleteness, championed their ability to overturn phylogenetic hypotheses or concluded that their behavior is indistinguishable from that of extant taxa. Based on taxon addition experiments on empirical data matrices, we show that the inclusion of paleontological data has a remarkable effect in phylogenetic inference. Incorporating fossils often (yet not always) induces stronger topological changes than increasing sampling of extant taxa. Fossils also produce unique topological rearrangements, allowing the exploration of regions of treespace that are never visited by analyses of only extant taxa. Previous studies have proposed a suite of explanations for the topological behavior of fossils, such as their retention of unique morphologies or their ability to break long branches. We develop predictive models that demonstrate that the possession of distinctive character state combinations is the primary predictor of the degree of induced topological change, and that the relative impact of taxa (fossil and extant) can be predicted to some extent before any phylogenetic analysis. Our results bolster the consensus of recent empirical studies by showing the unique role of paleontological data in phylogenetic inference, and provide the first quantitative assessment of its determinants, with broad consequences for the design of taxon sampling in both morphological and total-evidence analyses. [phylogeny, morphology, fossils, parsimony, Bayesian inference.]
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolás Mongiardino Koch
- Department of Geology & Geophysics, Yale University, 210 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Luke A Parry
- Department of Geology & Geophysics, Yale University, 210 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
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