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Perrichon G, Pochat-Cottilloux Y, Conedera D, Richardin P, Fernandez V, Hautier L, Martin JE. Neuroanatomy and pneumaticity of the extinct Malagasy "horned" crocodile Voay robustus and its implications for crocodylid phylogeny and palaeoecology. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024; 307:2749-2786. [PMID: 38116895 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25367] [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: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
Voay robustus, the extinct Malagasy "horned" crocodile, was originally considered to be the only crocodylian representative in Madagascar during most part of the Holocene. However, Malagasy crocodylian remains have had confused taxonomic attributions and recent studies have underlined that Crocodylus and Voay populations coexisted on the island for at least 7500 years. Here, we describe the inner braincase anatomy of Voay robustus using x-ray computed tomography on four specimens, to provide new anatomical information that distinguishes Voay from Crocodylus, especially features of the brain endocast and the paratympanic sinuses. Geometric morphometric analyses are performed on 3D models of the internal organs to compare statistically Voay with a subset of extant Crocodylidae. Following these comparisons, we build an endocranial morphological matrix to discuss the proposed phylogenetic affinities of Voay with Osteolaeminae from an endocranial point of view. Additionally, we discuss the use of internal characters in systematic studies and find that they can have a major impact on morphological analyses. Finally, new radiocarbon data on Voay and subfossil Crocodylus specimens are recovered between 2010 and 2750 cal BP, which confirm the cohabitation of the two species in the same area for a long period of time. We thus assess several extinction scenarios, and propose a slightly different ecology of Voay compared to Crocodylus, which could have allowed habitat partitioning on the island. Our approach complements information obtained from previous molecular and morphological phylogenies, as well as previous radiocarbon dating, together revealing past diversity and faunal turnovers in Madagascar.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwendal Perrichon
- CNRS UMR 5276, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, ENS de Lyon, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon-Terre, Planètes, Environnement, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Yohan Pochat-Cottilloux
- CNRS UMR 5276, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, ENS de Lyon, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon-Terre, Planètes, Environnement, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Davide Conedera
- CNRS UMR 5276, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, ENS de Lyon, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon-Terre, Planètes, Environnement, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Pascale Richardin
- Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France (C2RMF), Palais du Louvre, Porte des Lions, Paris, France
- CNRS-UMR 8068, Technologie Ethnologie des Mondes Préhistoriques (TEMPS), Université Paris Nanterre, Nanterre Cedex, France
| | - Vincent Fernandez
- Imaging and Analysis Centre, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble, France
| | - Lionel Hautier
- Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution, Université Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
- Mammal Section, Life Sciences, Vertebrate Division, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Jeremy E Martin
- CNRS UMR 5276, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, ENS de Lyon, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon-Terre, Planètes, Environnement, Villeurbanne, France
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2
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Groh SS, Upchurch P, Day JJ, Barrett PM. The biogeographic history of neosuchian crocodiles and the impact of saltwater tolerance variability. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230725. [PMID: 37800151 PMCID: PMC10548099 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230725] [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: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023]
Abstract
Extant neosuchian crocodiles are represented by only 24 taxa that are confined to the tropics and subtropics. However, at other intervals during their 200 Myr evolutionary history the clade reached considerably higher levels of species-richness, matched by more widespread distributions. Neosuchians have occupied numerous habitats and niches, ranging from dwarf riverine forms to large marine predators. Despite numerous previous studies, several unsolved questions remain with respect to their biogeographic history, including the geographical origins of major groups, e.g. Eusuchia and Neosuchia itself. We carried out the most comprehensive biogeographic analysis of Neosuchia to date, based on a multivariate K-means clustering approach followed by the application of two ancestral area estimation methods (BioGeoBEARS and Bayesian ancestral location estimation) applied to two recently published phylogenies. Our results place the origin of Neosuchia in northwestern Pangaea, with subsequent radiations into Gondwana. Eusuchia probably emerged in the European archipelago during the Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous, followed by dispersals to the North American and Asian landmasses. We show that putative transoceanic dispersal events are statistically significantly less likely to happen in alligatoroids. This finding is consistent with the saltwater intolerant physiology of extant alligatoroids, bolstering inferences of such intolerance in their ancestral lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian S. Groh
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Quality Enhancement Directorate, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Llandaff Campus, Cardiff CF5 2YB, UK
| | - Paul Upchurch
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Julia J. Day
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Paul M. Barrett
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Fossil Reptiles, Amphibians and Birds Section, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
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3
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Rawson JRG, Esteve-Altava B, Porro LB, Dutel H, Rayfield EJ. Early tetrapod cranial evolution is characterized by increased complexity, constraint, and an offset from fin-limb evolution. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eadc8875. [PMID: 36083907 PMCID: PMC9462696 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adc8875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The developmental underpinnings and functional consequences of modifications to the limbs during the origin of the tetrapod body plan are increasingly well characterized, but less is understood about the evolution of the tetrapod skull. Decrease in skull bone number has been hypothesized to promote morphological and functional diversification in vertebrate clades, but its impact during the initial rise of tetrapods is unknown. Here, we test this by quantifying topological changes to cranial anatomy in fossil and living taxa bracketing the fin-to-limb transition using anatomical network analysis. We find that bone loss across the origin of tetrapods is associated not only with increased complexity of bone-to-bone contacts but also with decreasing topological diversity throughout the late Paleozoic, which may be related to developmental and/or mechanical constraints. We also uncover a 10-Ma offset between fin-limb and cranial morphological evolution, suggesting that different evolutionary drivers affected these features during the origin of tetrapods.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Borja Esteve-Altava
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, Departament de Ciències Experimentals i la Salud, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Laura B. Porro
- Centre for Integrative Anatomy, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, UCL, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Hugo Dutel
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK
- Department of Engineering, University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull HU6 7RX, UK
| | - Emily J. Rayfield
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK
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4
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Brochu CA, de Celis A, Adams AJ, Drumheller SK, Nestler JH, Benefit BR, Grossman A, Kirera F, Lehmann T, Liutkus-Pierce C, Manthi FK, McCrossin ML, McNulty KP, Nyaboke Juma R. Giant dwarf crocodiles from the Miocene of Kenya and crocodylid faunal dynamics in the late Cenozoic of East Africa. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2022; 305:2729-2765. [PMID: 35674271 PMCID: PMC9541231 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25005] [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: 01/20/2022] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
We describe two new osteolaemine crocodylids from the Early and early Middle Miocene of Kenya: Kinyang mabokoensis tax. nov. (Maboko, 15 Ma) and Kinyang tchernovi tax. nov. (Karungu and Loperot, 18 Ma). Additional material referable to Kinyang is known from Chianda and Moruorot. The skull was broad and dorsoventrally deep, and the genus can be diagnosed based on the combined presence of a partial overbite, a subdivided fossa for the lateral collateral ligament on the surangular, and a maxilla with no more than 13 alveoli. Phylogenetic analyses based on morphological and combined morphological and molecular data support a referral of Kinyang to Osteolaeminae, and morphological data alone put the new taxon at the base of Euthecodontini. Some Kinyang maxillae preserve blind pits on the medial caviconchal recess wall. Kinyang co‐occurs with the osteolaemine Brochuchus at some localities, and together, they reinforce the phylogenetic disparity between early Neogene osteolaemine‐dominated faunas and faunas dominated by crocodylines beginning in the Late Miocene in the Kenya Rift. The causes of this turnover remain unclear, though changes in prevailing vegetation resulting from tectonic and climatic drivers may provide a partial explanation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A Brochu
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - Ane de Celis
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, Spain
| | - Amanda J Adams
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas, USA
| | - Stephanie K Drumheller
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Jennifer H Nestler
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - Brenda R Benefit
- Department of Anthropology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
| | - Aryeh Grossman
- Department of Anatomy, College of Graduate Studies, Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona, USA.,Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine, Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona, USA.,Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona, USA
| | - Francis Kirera
- Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon, Georgia, USA
| | - Thomas Lehmann
- Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Cynthia Liutkus-Pierce
- Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, USA
| | - Fredrick K Manthi
- Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Monte L McCrossin
- Department of Anthropology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
| | - Kieran P McNulty
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Rose Nyaboke Juma
- Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
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Salas-Gismondi R, Ochoa D, Jouve S, Romero PE, Cardich J, Perez A, DeVries T, Baby P, Urbina M, Carré M. Miocene fossils from the southeastern Pacific shed light on the last radiation of marine crocodylians. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220380. [PMID: 35538785 PMCID: PMC9091840 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolution of crocodylians as sea dwellers remains obscure because living representatives are basically freshwater inhabitants and fossil evidence lacks crucial aspects about crocodylian occupation of marine ecosystems. New fossils from marine deposits of Peru reveal that crocodylians were habitual coastal residents of the southeastern Pacific (SEP) for approximately 14 million years within the Miocene (ca 19 to 5 Ma), an epoch including the highest global peak of marine crocodylian diversity. The assemblage of the SEP comprised two long and slender-snouted (longirostrine) taxa of the Gavialidae: the giant Piscogavialis and a new early diverging species, Sacacosuchus cordovai. Although living gavialids (Gavialis and Tomistoma) are freshwater forms, this remarkable fossil record and a suite of evolutionary morphological analyses reveal that the whole evolution of marine crocodylians pertained to the gavialids and their stem relatives (Gavialoidea). This adaptive radiation produced two longirostrine ecomorphs with dissimilar trophic roles in seawaters and involved multiple transmarine dispersals to South America and most landmasses. Marine gavialoids were shallow sea dwellers, and their Cenozoic diversification was influenced by the availability of coastal habitats. Soon after the richness peak of the Miocene, gavialoid crocodylians disappeared from the sea, probably as part of the marine megafauna extinction of the Pliocene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi
- Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofía/Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral y Sostenible, Laboratorios de Investigación y Desarrollo, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú.,Departamento de Paleontología de Vertebrados, Museo de Historia Natural, UNMSM, Lima, Perú.,Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA
| | - Diana Ochoa
- Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofía/Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral y Sostenible, Laboratorios de Investigación y Desarrollo, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú
| | - Stephane Jouve
- Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie-Paris (CR2P), Sorbonne Université, CNRS-MNHN-Sorbonne Université, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Pedro E Romero
- Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofía/Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral y Sostenible, Laboratorios de Investigación y Desarrollo, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú
| | - Jorge Cardich
- Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofía/Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral y Sostenible, Laboratorios de Investigación y Desarrollo, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú
| | - Alexander Perez
- Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofía/Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral y Sostenible, Laboratorios de Investigación y Desarrollo, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú
| | - Thomas DeVries
- Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Patrice Baby
- Géosciences- Environnements Toulouse, Université de Toulouse; UPS (SVT-OMP), CNRS, IRD, 14 Avenue Édouard Belin, F-31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Mario Urbina
- Departamento de Paleontología de Vertebrados, Museo de Historia Natural, UNMSM, Lima, Perú
| | - Matthieu Carré
- Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofía/Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral y Sostenible, Laboratorios de Investigación y Desarrollo, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú.,LOCEAN Laboratory, UMR7159 (CNRS-IRD-MNHN-Sorbonnne Universités), Paris, France
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6
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Achatz TJ, Chermak TP, Junker K, Tkach VV. Integration of morphological and molecular data reveals further unknown diversity of the Proterodiplostomidae in crocodilians. SYST BIODIVERS 2022; 20:1-18. [PMID: 36970113 PMCID: PMC10035586 DOI: 10.1080/14772000.2022.2051212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The Proterodiplostomidae Dubois, 1936 is a family of digeneans within the superfamily Diplostomoidea Poirier, 1886. Members of the family are distributed mostly in the tropics and subtropics, primarily in crocodilians, although some species are known from other reptiles. Despite their broad geographical distribution, the knowledge of proterodiplostomid diversity remains limited, mostly because a number of potential host species and regions of the world have not been sufficiently explored for these parasites. In this study, we use morphological and molecular data to describe four new genera (Afroproterodiplostomum gen. nov., Dungalabatrema gen. nov., Australiadiplostomum gen. nov. and Nattererodiplostomum gen. nov.) and five new species (Afroproterodiplostomum ingwenyae sp. nov., Australiadiplostomum blairi sp. nov., Dungalabatrema kostadinovae sp. nov., Dungalabatrema snyderi sp. nov. and Pseudoneodiplostomum angustus sp. nov.) of proterodiplostomids from crocodilians in Australia, South Africa and South America. Nattererodiplostomum gen. nov. has been established upon re-evaluation of the status of Proterodiplostomum medusae (Dubois, 1936) from caimans in Brazil using combined morphological and molecular evidence. Only a few previous studies provided DNA sequence data of proterodiplostomids. We generated partial 28S rDNA and cytochrome c subunit (cox1) mtDNA for three previously undescribed proterodiplostomids collected from Crocodylus spp. in Australia and South Africa. The newly generated 28S sequences were used to examine phylogenetic affinities of these taxa. All three newly sequenced proterodiplostomid species appeared in the phylogenetic tree in a strongly supported monophyletic clade comprising exclusively parasites of Crocodylus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler J. Achatz
- Department of Biology, University of North Dakota, Starcher Hall, 10 Cornell Street Stop 9019, Grand Forks, 58202, North Dakota, USA
- Department of Natural Sciences, Middle Georgia State University, Macon, 31206, Georgia, USA
| | - Taylor P. Chermak
- Department of Biology, University of North Dakota, Starcher Hall, 10 Cornell Street Stop 9019, Grand Forks, 58202, North Dakota, USA
| | - Kerstin Junker
- National Collection of Animal Helminths, Epidemiology, Parasites and Vectors, ARC‐Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa
| | - Vasyl V. Tkach
- Department of Biology, University of North Dakota, Starcher Hall, 10 Cornell Street Stop 9019, Grand Forks, 58202, North Dakota, USA
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7
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Cossette AP, Grass AD, DeGuzman T. The contribution of ontogenetic growth trajectories on the divergent evolution of the crocodylian skull table. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2021; 305:2904-2925. [PMID: 34779584 DOI: 10.1002/ar.24824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
To explore shape variability among crocodylian skull tables, an analysis using geometric morphometric methods is conducted with the inclusion of extant and fossil taxa. Skull tables are variable and the differences likely play a role in hydrodynamics, species recognition, and biomechanical adaptations. Comparisons of allometric change within taxa are explored revealing that adults significantly diverge from juvenile skull table morphologies in most species and these changes happen in a stereotyped way. In all analyses, adults of the smallest extant taxa plot alongside the juveniles of related taxa and heterochrony may explain the maintenance of these morphologies into adulthood. When landmarks representing the supratemporal fenestrae are included, longirostrine taxa are broadly separated from one another due to variation in the size of the supratemporal fenestrae. The hypotheses of previous studies suggesting that the size of the supratemporal fenestrae is influenced by snout length-with longer snouts corresponding to larger fenestrae-must be re-evaluated. Although species of the crocodyloids Tomistoma and Euthecodon approach or exceed the length of the snout in gavialoids, their supratemporal fenestrae are proportionally smaller-this suggests a phylogenetic constraint in crocodyloids regardless of snout length.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam P Cossette
- Department of Basic Sciences, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA.,Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - Andy D Grass
- A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, Mesa, Arizona, USA
| | - Thomas DeGuzman
- Department of Basic Sciences, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA
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8
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Rio JP, Mannion PD. Phylogenetic analysis of a new morphological dataset elucidates the evolutionary history of Crocodylia and resolves the long-standing gharial problem. PeerJ 2021; 9:e12094. [PMID: 34567843 PMCID: PMC8428266 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2020] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
First appearing in the latest Cretaceous, Crocodylia is a clade of semi-aquatic, predatory reptiles, defined by the last common ancestor of extant alligators, caimans, crocodiles, and gharials. Despite large strides in resolving crocodylian interrelationships over the last three decades, several outstanding problems persist in crocodylian systematics. Most notably, there has been persistent discordance between morphological and molecular datasets surrounding the affinities of the extant gharials, Gavialis gangeticus and Tomistoma schlegelii. Whereas molecular data consistently support a sister taxon relationship, in which they are more closely related to crocodylids than to alligatorids, morphological data indicate that Gavialis is the sister taxon to all other extant crocodylians. Here we present a new morphological dataset for Crocodylia based on a critical reappraisal of published crocodylian character data matrices and extensive firsthand observations of a global sample of crocodylians. This comprises the most taxonomically comprehensive crocodylian dataset to date (144 OTUs scored for 330 characters) and includes a new, illustrated character list with modifications to the construction and scoring of characters, and 46 novel characters. Under a maximum parsimony framework, our analyses robustly recover Gavialis as more closely related to Tomistoma than to other extant crocodylians for the first time based on morphology alone. This result is recovered regardless of the weighting strategy and treatment of quantitative characters. However, analyses using continuous characters and extended implied weighting (with high k-values) produced the most resolved, well-supported, and stratigraphically congruent topologies overall. Resolution of the gharial problem reveals that: (1) several gavialoids lack plesiomorphic features that formerly drew them towards the stem of Crocodylia; and (2) more widespread similarities occur between species traditionally divided into tomistomines and gavialoids, with these interpreted here as homology rather than homoplasy. There remains significant temporal incongruence regarding the inferred divergence timing of the extant gharials, indicating that several putative gavialids ('thoracosaurs') are incorrectly placed and require future re-appraisal. New alligatoroid interrelationships include: (1) support for a North American origin of Caimaninae in the latest Cretaceous; (2) the recovery of the early Paleogene South American taxon Eocaiman as a 'basal' alligatoroid; and (3) the paraphyly of the Cenozoic European taxon Diplocynodon. Among crocodyloids, notable results include modifications to the taxonomic content of Mekosuchinae, including biogeographic affinities of this clade with latest Cretaceous-early Paleogene Asian crocodyloids. In light of our new results, we provide a comprehensive review of the evolutionary and biogeographic history of Crocodylia, which included multiple instances of transoceanic and continental dispersal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan P. Rio
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Philip D. Mannion
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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9
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Carrillo-Briceño JD, Sánchez R, Scheyer TM, Carrillo JD, Delfino M, Georgalis GL, Kerber L, Ruiz-Ramoni D, Birindelli JLO, Cadena EA, Rincón AF, Chavez-Hoffmeister M, Carlini AA, Carvalho MR, Trejos-Tamayo R, Vallejo F, Jaramillo C, Jones DS, Sánchez-Villagra MR. A Pliocene-Pleistocene continental biota from Venezuela. SWISS JOURNAL OF PALAEONTOLOGY 2021; 140:9. [PMID: 34721281 PMCID: PMC8550326 DOI: 10.1186/s13358-020-00216-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/25/2020] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The Pliocene-Pleistocene transition in the Neotropics is poorly understood despite the major climatic changes that occurred at the onset of the Quaternary. The San Gregorio Formation, the younger unit of the Urumaco Sequence, preserves a fauna that documents this critical transition. We report stingrays, freshwater bony fishes, amphibians, crocodiles, lizards, snakes, aquatic and terrestrial turtles, and mammals. A total of 49 taxa are reported from the Vergel Member (late Pliocene) and nine taxa from the Cocuiza Member (Early Pleistocene), with 28 and 18 taxa reported for the first time in the Urumaco sequence and Venezuela, respectively. Our findings include the first fossil record of the freshwater fishes Megaleporinus, Schizodon, Amblydoras, Scorpiodoras, and the pipesnake Anilius scytale, all from Pliocene strata. The late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene ages proposed here for the Vergel and Cocuiza members, respectively, are supported by their stratigraphic position, palynology, nannoplankton, and 86Sr/88Sr dating. Mammals from the Vergel Member are associated with the first major pulse of the Great American Biotic Interchange. In contrast to the dry conditions prevailing today, the San Gregorio Formation documents mixed open grassland/forest areas surrounding permanent freshwater systems, following the isolation of the northern South American basin from western Amazonia. These findings support the hypothesis that range contraction of many taxa to their current distribution in northern South America occurred rapidly during at least the last 1.5 million years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge D. Carrillo-Briceño
- Universität Zürich, Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Karl-Schmid-Straße 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Rodolfo Sánchez
- Museo Paleontológico de Urumaco, Calle Bolívar s/n, Urumaco, Estado Falcón Venezuela
| | - Torsten M. Scheyer
- Universität Zürich, Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Karl-Schmid-Straße 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Juan D. Carrillo
- CR2P, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, 8 Rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Carl Skottsbergs gata 22B, 41319 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Massimo Delfino
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, 10125 Torino, Italy
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA/ICP, c/Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona Spain
| | - Georgios L. Georgalis
- Universität Zürich, Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Karl-Schmid-Straße 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Leonardo Kerber
- Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia (CAPPA), Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), São João do Polêsine, Rio Grande do Sul Brazil
- Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Coordenação de Ciências da Terra e Ecologia, Belém, PA Brazil
| | - Damián Ruiz-Ramoni
- Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja (CRILAR), Provincia de La Rioja, CONICET, UNLaR, SEGEMAR, UNCa, Entre Ríos y Mendoza s/n, 5301 Anillaco, La Rioja, Argentina
| | - José L. O. Birindelli
- Departamento de Biologia Animal e Vegetal, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Brazil
| | - Edwin-Alberto Cadena
- Grupo de Investigación Paleontología Neotropical Tradicional y Molecular (PaleoNeo), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, 0843-03092 Balboa, Ancón Panama
| | - Aldo F. Rincón
- Departamento de Física y Geociencias, Universidad del Norte, Km. 5 Vía Puerto Colombia, Barranquilla, Colombia
| | - Martin Chavez-Hoffmeister
- Laboratorio de Paleontología, Instituto de Ciencias de La Tierra, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
| | - Alfredo A. Carlini
- Lab. Morfología Evolutiva Desarrollo (MORPHOS), and División Paleontología de Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, B1900FWA La Plata, Argentina
| | - Mónica R. Carvalho
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, 0843-03092 Balboa, Ancón Panama
| | - Raúl Trejos-Tamayo
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Estratigrafía (IIES), Universidad de Caldas, Calle 65 #26-10, Manizales, Colombia
- Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
| | - Felipe Vallejo
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Estratigrafía (IIES), Universidad de Caldas, Calle 65 #26-10, Manizales, Colombia
- Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
| | - Carlos Jaramillo
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, 0843-03092 Balboa, Ancón Panama
- Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
- ISEM, U. Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Douglas S. Jones
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA
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