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Woolley CH, Bottjer DJ, Corsetti FA, Smith ND. Quantifying the effects of exceptional fossil preservation on the global availability of phylogenetic data in deep time. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0297637. [PMID: 38354167 PMCID: PMC10866489 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297637] [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: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Fossil deposits with exceptional preservation ("lagerstätten") provide important details not typically preserved in the fossil record, such that they hold an outsized influence on our understanding of biodiversity and evolution. In particular, the potential bias imparted by this so-called "lagerstätten effect" remains a critical, but underexplored aspect of reconstructing evolutionary relationships. Here, we quantify the amount of phylogenetic information available in the global fossil records of 1,327 species of non-avian theropod dinosaurs, Mesozoic birds, and fossil squamates (e.g., lizards, snakes, mosasaurs), and then compare the influence of lagerstätten deposits on phylogenetic information content and taxon selection in phylogenetic analyses to other fossil-bearing deposits. We find that groups that preserve a high amount of phylogenetic information in their global fossil record (e.g., non-avian theropods) are less vulnerable to a "lagerstätten effect" that leads to disproportionate representation of fossil taxa from one geologic unit in an evolutionary tree. Additionally, for each taxonomic group, we find comparable amounts of phylogenetic information in lagerstätten deposits, even though corresponding morphological character datasets vary greatly. Finally, we unexpectedly find that ancient sand dune deposits of the Late Cretaceous Gobi Desert of Mongolia and China exert an anomalously large influence on the phylogenetic information available in the squamate fossil record, suggesting a "lagerstätten effect" can be present in units not traditionally considered lagerstätten. These results offer a phylogenetics-based lens through which to examine the effects of exceptional fossil preservation on biological patterns through time and space, and invites further quantification of evolutionary information in the rock record.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. Henrik Woolley
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - David J. Bottjer
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Frank A. Corsetti
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Nathan D. Smith
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
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Wu Y, Ge Y, Hu H, Stidham TA, Li Z, Bailleul AM, Zhou Z. Intra-gastric phytoliths provide evidence for folivory in basal avialans of the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4558. [PMID: 37507397 PMCID: PMC10382595 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40311-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Angiosperms became the dominant plant group in early to middle Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems, coincident with the timing of the earliest pulse of bird diversification. While living birds and angiosperms exhibit strong interactions across pollination/nectivory, seed dispersal/frugivory, and folivory, documentation of the evolutionary origins and construction of that ecological complexity remains scarce in the Mesozoic. Through the first study of preserved in situ dietary derived phytoliths in a nearly complete skeleton of the early diverging avialan clade Jeholornithidae, we provide direct dietary evidence that Jeholornis consumed leaves likely from the magnoliid angiosperm clade, and these results lend further support for early ecological connections among the earliest birds and angiosperms. The broad diet of the early diverging avialan Jeholornis including at least fruits and leaves marks a clear transition in the early evolution of birds in the establishment of an arboreal (angiosperm) herbivore niche in the Early Cretaceous occupied largely by birds today. Morphometric reanalysis of the lower jaw of Jeholornis further supports a generalized morphology shared with other herbivorous birds, including an extant avian folivore, the hoatzin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 142 Xi-zhi-men-wai Street, 100044, Beijing, China
| | - Yong Ge
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 142 Xi-zhi-men-wai Street, 100044, Beijing, China
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China
| | - Han Hu
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3AN, UK
| | - Thomas A Stidham
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 142 Xi-zhi-men-wai Street, 100044, Beijing, China
- College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China
| | - Zhiheng Li
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 142 Xi-zhi-men-wai Street, 100044, Beijing, China.
| | - Alida M Bailleul
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 142 Xi-zhi-men-wai Street, 100044, Beijing, China
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 142 Xi-zhi-men-wai Street, 100044, Beijing, China
- College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China
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Ma C, Tang Y, Mitchell RN, Li Y, Sun S, Zhu J, Foley SF, Wang M, Ye C, Ying J, Zhu R. Volcanic phosphorus supply boosted Mesozoic terrestrial biotas in northern China. Sci Bull (Beijing) 2023:S2095-9273(23)00341-9. [PMID: 37268441 DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2023.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Revised: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The Mesozoic terrestrial Jehol Biota of northern China exceeds the biomass and biodiversity of contemporaneous Lagerstätten. From 135 to 120 Ma, biotic radiation may have responded to the peak destruction of the North China Craton. However, the direct mechanistic link between geological and biological evolution is unclear. Phosphorus (P), a bio-essential nutrient, can be supplied by weathering of volcanics in terrestrial ecosystems. The middle-late Mesozoic volcanic-sedimentary sequences of northern China are amazingly rich in terrestrial organisms. Here we demonstrate episodic increases in P delivery, biological productivity, and species abundance in these strata to reveal the coevolution of volcanism and terrestrial biotas. A massive P supply from the weathering of voluminous volcanic products of craton destruction thus supported a terrestrial environment conducive to the high prosperity of the Jehol Biota. During the nascent stage of craton destruction, such volcanic-biotic coupling can also account for the preceding Yanliao Biota with relatively fewer fossils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China; College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yanjie Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China; College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Ross N Mitchell
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China; College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yongfei Li
- Shenyang Center of China Geological Survey, Shenyang 110034, China
| | - Shouliang Sun
- Shenyang Center of China Geological Survey, Shenyang 110034, China
| | - Jichang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China; College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Stephen F Foley
- Australia School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde NSW 2109, Australia; Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Min Wang
- 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
| | - Chenyang Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China; College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jifeng Ying
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China; College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Rixiang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China; College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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Leslie AB, Benson RBJ. Neontological and paleontological congruence in the evolution of Podocarpaceae (coniferales) reproductive morphology. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.1058746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
IntroductionPodocarpaceae are a diverse, primarily tropical conifer family that commonly produce large leaves and highly reduced, fleshy seed cones bearing large seeds. These features may result from relatively recent adaptation to closed-canopy angiosperm forests and bird-mediated seed dispersal, although determining precisely when shifts in leaf and seed cone morphology occurred is difficult due to a sparse fossil record and relatively few surviving deep lineages.MethodsWe compare the fossil record of Podocarpaceae with results from ancestral state reconstruction methods and correlated character models using neontological data and a previously published molecular time-tree.ResultsAncestral state reconstructions suggest that small leaves, small seeds, and multi-seeded cones are ancestral in crown Podocarpaceae, with reduced cones bearing few seeds appearing in the Early Cretaceous and the correlated evolution of large leaves and large seeds occurring from the Late Cretaceous onwards. The exact timing of these shifts based on neontological data alone are poorly constrained, however, and estimates of leaf and seed size are imprecise.DiscussionThe fossil record is largely congruent with results based on the molecular time-tree, but provide important constraints on the range of leaf and seed sizes that were present in Cretaceous Podocarpaceae and the time by which changes in cone morphology and seed size likely occurred. We suggest in particular that reduced seed cones appeared in the Early Cretaceous and are linked to the contemporaneous diversification of small bodied avialans (birds), with shifts to larger seed sizes occurring after the Cretaceous in association with the spread of closed-canopy angiosperm forests.
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Hu H, Wang Y, Fabbri M, O’Connor JK, Mcdonald PG, Wroe S, Yin X, Zheng X, Zhou Z, Benson RBJ. Cranial osteology and palaeobiology of the Early Cretaceous bird Jeholornis prima (Aves: Jeholornithiformes). Zool J Linn Soc 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Jeholornis is a representative of the earliest-diverging bird lineages, providing important evidence of anatomical transitions involved in bird origins. Although ~100 specimens have been reported, its cranial morphology remains poorly documented owing to poor two-dimensional preservation, limiting our understanding of the morphology and ecology of the key avian lineage Jeholornithiformes, in addition to cranial evolution during the origin and early evolution of birds. Here, we provide a detailed description of the cranial osteology of Jeholornis prima, based primarily on high-quality, three-dimensional data of a recently reported specimen. New anatomical information confirms the overall plesiomorphic morphology of the skull, with the exception of the more specialized rostrum. Data from a large sample size of specimens reveal the dental formula of J. prima to be 0–2–3 (premaxillary–maxillary–dentary tooth counts), contrary to previous suggestions that the presence of maxillary teeth is diagnostic of a separate species, Jeholornis palmapenis. We also present evidence of sensory adaptation, including relatively large olfactory bulbs in comparison to other known stem birds, suggesting that olfaction was an important aspect of Jeholornis ecology. The digitally reconstructed scleral ring suggests a strongly diurnal habit, supporting the hypothesis that early-diverging birds were predominantly active during the day.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Hu
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford , Oxford OX1 3AN , UK
| | - Yan Wang
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University , Linyi, Shandong 276000 , China
| | - Matteo Fabbri
- Negaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History , Chicago, IL 60605 , USA
| | - Jingmai K O’Connor
- Negaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History , Chicago, IL 60605 , USA
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 100044 Beijing , China
- Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 100044 Beijing , China
| | - Paul G Mcdonald
- Zoology Division, School of Environmental and Rural Sciences, University of New England , Armidale, NSW 2351 , Australia
| | - Stephen Wroe
- Zoology Division, School of Environmental and Rural Sciences, University of New England , Armidale, NSW 2351 , Australia
| | - Xuwei Yin
- Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature , Pingyi, Shandong, China
| | - Xiaoting Zheng
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University , Linyi, Shandong 276000 , China
- Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature , Pingyi, Shandong, China
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 100044 Beijing , China
- Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 100044 Beijing , China
| | - Roger B J Benson
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford , Oxford OX1 3AN , UK
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O’Connor J. Enantiornithes. Curr Biol 2022; 32:R1166-R1172. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Zhou Z. The Rising of Paleontology in China: A Century-Long Road. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:1104. [PMID: 35892960 PMCID: PMC9332504 DOI: 10.3390/biology11081104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Revised: 07/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, the history of paleontology in China from 1920 to 2020 is divided into three major stages, i.e., 1920-1949, 1949-1978, and 1979-2020. As one of the first scientific disciplines to have earned international fame in China, the development of Chinese paleontology benefitted from international collaborations and China's rich resources. Since 1978, China's socio-economic development and its open-door policy to the outside world have also played a key role in the growth of Chinese paleontology. In the 21st century, thanks to constant funding from the government and the rise of the younger generation of paleontologists, Chinese paleontology is expected to make even more contributions to the integration of paleontology with both biological and geological research projects by taking advantage of new technologies and China's rich paleontological resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhonghe Zhou
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 142 Xizhimenwai Dajie, Beijing 100044, China
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Li Z, Wang M, Stidham TA, Zhou Z, Clarke J. Novel evolution of a hyper-elongated tongue in a Cretaceous enantiornithine from China and the evolution of the hyolingual apparatus and feeding in birds. J Anat 2022; 240:627-638. [PMID: 34854094 PMCID: PMC8930807 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13588] [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: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The globally distributed extinct clade Enantiornithes comprises the most diverse early radiation of birds in the Mesozoic with species exhibiting a wide range of body sizes, morphologies, and ecologies. The fossil of a new enantiornithine bird, Brevirostruavis macrohyoideus gen. et sp. nov., from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation in Liaoning Province, northeastern China, preserves a few important skeletal features previously unknown among early stem and extant birds, including an extremely elongate bony hyoid element (only slightly shorter than the skull), combined with a short cranial rostrum. The long hyoid provides direct evidence for the evolution of specialized feeding in this extinct species, and appears similar to the highly mobile tongue that is mobilized by the paired epibranchials present in living hummingbirds, honeyeaters, and woodpeckers. The likely linkage between food acquisition and tongue protrusion might have been a key factor in the independent evolution of particularly elongate hyobranchials in early birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiheng Li
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Vertebrate Paleontology and PaleoanthropologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and PaleoenvironmentBeijingChina
| | - Min Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Vertebrate Paleontology and PaleoanthropologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and PaleoenvironmentBeijingChina
| | - Thomas A. Stidham
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Vertebrate Paleontology and PaleoanthropologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and PaleoenvironmentBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Vertebrate Paleontology and PaleoanthropologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and PaleoenvironmentBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Julia Clarke
- Department of Geological SciencesUniversity of Texas at AustinAustinTexasUSA
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Ma X, Wang G, Wang M. Impact of Chinese palaeontology on evolutionary research. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210029. [PMID: 35124998 PMCID: PMC8819365 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoya Ma
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Chenggong Campus, Kunming 650504, People's Republic of China.,Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Guangxu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, People's Republic of China
| | - Min Wang
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
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Korneisel DE, Nesbitt SJ, Werning S, Xiao S. Putative fossil blood cells reinterpreted as diagenetic structures. PeerJ 2022; 9:e12651. [PMID: 35003935 PMCID: PMC8684720 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12651] [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: 09/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Red to red-orange spheres in the vascular canals of fossil bone thin sections have been repeatedly reported using light microscopy. Some of these have been interpreted as the fossilized remains of blood cells or, alternatively, pyrite framboids. Here, we assess claims of blood cell preservation within bones of the therizinosauroid theropod Beipiaosaurus inexpectus from the Jehol Lagerstätte. Using Raman spectroscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry, and Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy, we found evidence of high taphonomic alteration of the bone. We also found that the vascular canals in the bone, once purported to contain fossil red blood cell, are filled with a mix of clay minerals and carbonaceous compounds. The spheres could not be analyzed in isolation, but we did not find any evidence of pyrite or heme compounds in the vessels, surrounding bone, or matrix. However, we did observe similar spheres under light microscopy in petrified wood found in proximity to the dinosaur. Consequently, we conclude that the red spheres are most likely diagenetic structures replicated by the clay minerals present throughout the vascular canals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana E Korneisel
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, United States of America
| | - Sterling J Nesbitt
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, United States of America
| | - Sarah Werning
- Department of Anatomy, Des Moines University, Des Moines, IA, United States of America
| | - Shuhai Xiao
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, United States of America
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Hsieh CL, Yu CC, Huang YL, Chung KF. Mahonia vs. Berberis Unloaded: Generic Delimitation and Infrafamilial Classification of Berberidaceae Based on Plastid Phylogenomics. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 12:720171. [PMID: 35069611 PMCID: PMC8770955 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.720171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
The early-diverging eudicot family Berberidaceae is composed of a morphologically diverse assemblage of disjunctly distributed genera long praised for their great horticultural and medicinal values. However, despite century-long studies, generic delimitation of Berberidaceae remains controversial and its tribal classification has never been formally proposed under a rigorous phylogenetic context. Currently, the number of accepted genera in Berberidaceae ranges consecutively from 13 to 19, depending on whether to define Berberis, Jeffersonia, and Podophyllum broadly, or to segregate these three genera further and recognize Alloberberis, Mahonia, and Moranothamnus, Plagiorhegma, and Dysosma, Diphylleia, and Sinopodophyllum, respectively. To resolve Berberidaceae's taxonomic disputes, we newly assembled 23 plastomes and, together with 85 plastomes from the GenBank, completed the generic sampling of the family. With 4 problematic and 14 redundant plastome sequences excluded, robust phylogenomic relationships were reconstructed based on 93 plastomes representing all 19 genera of Berberidaceae and three outgroups. Maximum likelihood phylogenomic relationships corroborated with divergence time estimation support the recognition of three subfamilies Berberidoideae, Nandinoideae, and Podophylloideae, with tribes Berberideae and Ranzanieae, Leonticeae and Nandineae, and Podophylleae, Achlydeae, Bongardieae tr. nov., Epimedieae, and Jeffersonieae tr. nov. in the former three subfamilies, respectively. By applying specifically stated criteria, our phylogenomic data also support the classification of 19 genera, recognizing Alloberberis, Mahonia, and Moranothamnus, Plagiorhegma, and Diphylleia, Dysosma, and Sinopodophyllum that are morphologically and evolutionarily distinct from Berberis, Jeffersonia, and Podophyllum, respectively. Comparison of plastome structures across Berberidaceae confirms inverted repeat expansion in the tribe Berberideae and reveals substantial length variation in accD gene caused by repeated sequences in Berberidoideae. Comparison of plastome tree with previous studies and nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) phylogeny also reveals considerable conflicts at different phylogenetic levels, suggesting that incomplete lineage sorting and/or hybridization had occurred throughout the evolutionary history of Berberidaceae and that Alloberberis and Moranothamnus could have resulted from reciprocal hybridization between Berberis and Mahonia in ancient times prior to the radiations of the latter two genera.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Lun Hsieh
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Chieh Yu
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
- School of Forestry and Resource Conservation, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Lan Huang
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Kuo-Fang Chung
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
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Wang M, O'Connor JK, Zhao T, Pan Y, Zheng X, Wang X, Zhou Z. An Early Cretaceous enantiornithine bird with a pintail. Curr Biol 2021; 31:4845-4852.e2. [PMID: 34534442 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Revised: 07/18/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Enantiornithes are the most successful group of Mesozoic birds, arguably representing the first global avian radiation,1-4 and commonly resolved as the sister to the Ornithuromorpha, the clade within which all living birds are nested.1,3 The wealth of fossils makes it feasible to comparatively test evolutionary hypotheses about the pattern and mode of eco-morphological diversity of these sister clades that co-existed for approximately 65 Ma. Here, we report a new Early Cretaceous enantiornithine, Yuanchuavis kompsosoura gen. et. sp. nov., with a rectricial fan combined with an elongate central pair of fully pennaceous rachis-dominated plumes, constituting a new tail plumage previously unknown among nonavialan dinosaurs and Mesozoic birds but which strongly resembles the pintail in many neornithines. The extravagant but aerodynamically costly long central plumes, as an honest signal of quality, likely evolved in enantiornithines through the handicap process of sexual selection. The contrasting tail morphotypes observed between enantiornithines and early ornithuromorphs reflect the complex interplay between sexual and natural selections and indicate that each lineage experienced unique pressures reflecting ecological differences. As in neornithines, early avialans repeatedly evolved extravagant structures highlighting the importance of sexual selection in shaping the plumage of feathered dinosaurs, even early in their evolutionary history.
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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, China; Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China.
| | | | - Tao Zhao
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Yanhong Pan
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Xiaoting Zheng
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi, 276000 Shandong, China; Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi, 273300 Shandong, China
| | - Xiaoli Wang
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi, 276000 Shandong, China; Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi, 273300 Shandong, China
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- 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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13
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Zhong Y, Huyskens MH, Yin QZ, Wang Y, Ma Q, Xu YG. High-precision geochronological constraints on the duration of 'Dinosaur Pompeii' and the Yixian Formation. Natl Sci Rev 2021; 8:nwab063. [PMID: 34691675 PMCID: PMC8288181 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwab063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2021] [Revised: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
High-precision U-Pb zircon ages of 125.755 ± 0.061 Ma and 124.122 ± 0.048 Ma, respectively, represent the onset and termination of Yixian Formation in the Jin-Yang basin, bracketing its duration to 1.633 ± 0.078 Myr.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuting Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Isotope Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
| | - Magdalena H Huyskens
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California at Davis, USA
| | - Qing-Zhu Yin
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California at Davis, USA
| | - Yaqiong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
| | - Qiang Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Isotope Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
| | - Yi-Gang Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Isotope Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
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14
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Zhou YL, Caterino MS, Ren D, Ślipiński A. Phylogeny and evolution of Mesozoic and extant lineages of Histeridae (Coleoptera), with discovery of a new subfamily Antigracilinae from the Lower Cretaceous. Cladistics 2021; 36:521-539. [PMID: 34618954 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2020] [Revised: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
In order to place a newly discovered species Antigracilus costatus gen. sp. n. from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation (China) and to assess previously unplaced fossil taxa, we investigated the relationships of extant and extinct lineages of Histeridae based on three data sets: (i) 69 morphological characters belonging to 48 taxa (representing all 11 subfamilies and 15 of 17 tribes of modern Histeridae); (ii) partitioned alignment of 6030 bp from downloaded nucleotide sequences (28S, CAD, COI, 18S) of 50 taxa (representing 10 subfamilies and 15 of 17 tribes of modern Histeridae); and (iii) a combined morphological and molecular dataset for 75 taxa. Phylogenetic analyses of the morphology and combined matrices recovered the new Lower Cretaceous taxon as a sister group to remaining Histeridae and it is placed in †Antigracilinae subfam. n. †Antigracilinae constitutes the earliest record of Histeridae from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation (∼125 Myr), backdating the minimum age of the family by 25 Myr from the earliest Cenomanian (~99 Myr) to the Barremian of the Cretaceous Period. Our molecular phylogeny supports Histeridae to be divided into seven different clades, with currently recognised subfamilies Abraeinae (sensu lato), Saprininae, Chlamydopsinae, and Histerinae (sensu lato) recovered as monophyletic, while Dendrophilinae, Onthophilinae, and Tribalinae are polyphyletic taxa. The Burmese amber species †Pantostictus burmanicus Poinar & Brown is placed as a sister group to the tribe Plegaderini (Abraeinae) and was assigned as a new tribe Pantostictini trib. n. Both molecular and combined phylogenies recovered the subfamilies Trypanaeinae and Trypeticinae deeply within the subfamily Abraeinae (sensu lato), and they are downgraded into Trypanaeini stat. n. and Trypeticini stat. n.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Lingzi Zhou
- Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO, GPO Box 1700, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Michael S Caterino
- Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
| | - Dong Ren
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Xisanhuanbeilu 105, Haidian District, Beijing, 100048, China
| | - Adam Ślipiński
- Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO, GPO Box 1700, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
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15
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Zheng X, Bailleul AM, Li Z, Wang X, Zhou Z. Nuclear preservation in the cartilage of the Jehol dinosaur Caudipteryx. Commun Biol 2021; 4:1125. [PMID: 34561538 PMCID: PMC8463611 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02627-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous findings on dinosaur cartilage material from the Late Cretaceous of Montana suggested that cartilage is a vertebrate tissue with unique characteristics that favor nuclear preservation. Here, we analyze additional dinosaur cartilage in Caudipteryx (STM4-3) from the Early Cretaceous Jehol biota of Northeast China. The cartilage fragment is highly diagenetically altered when observed in ground-sections but shows exquisite preservation after demineralization. It reveals transparent, alumino-silicified chondrocytes and brown, ironized chondrocytes. The histochemical stain Hematoxylin and Eosin (that stains the nucleus and cytoplasm in extant cells) was applied to both the demineralized cartilage of Caudipteryx and that of a chicken. The two specimens reacted identically, and one dinosaur chondrocyte revealed a nucleus with fossilized threads of chromatin. This is the second example of fossilized chromatin threads in a vertebrate material. These data show that some of the original nuclear biochemistry is preserved in this dinosaur cartilage material and further support the hypothesis that cartilage is very prone to nuclear fossilization and a perfect candidate to further understand DNA preservation in deep time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoting Zheng
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi City, Shandong, 276005, China
- Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi, Shandong, 273300, China
| | - Alida M Bailleul
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, 142 Xizhimenwai dajie, Beijing, 100044, China.
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, 100044, China.
| | - Zhiheng Li
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, 142 Xizhimenwai dajie, Beijing, 100044, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Xiaoli Wang
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi City, Shandong, 276005, China
- Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi, Shandong, 273300, China
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, 142 Xizhimenwai dajie, Beijing, 100044, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, 100044, China
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16
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Zhou Z, Meng Q, Zhu R, Wang M. Spatiotemporal evolution of the Jehol Biota: Responses to the North China craton destruction in the Early Cretaceous. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2107859118. [PMID: 34400505 PMCID: PMC8403929 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2107859118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota is a terrestrial lagerstätte that contains exceptionally well-preserved fossils indicating the origin and early evolution of Mesozoic life, such as birds, dinosaurs, pterosaurs, mammals, insects, and flowering plants. New geochronologic studies have further constrained the ages of the fossil-bearing beds, and recent investigations on Early Cretaceous tectonic settings have provided much new information for understanding the spatiotemporal distribution of the biota and dispersal pattern of its members. Notably, the occurrence of the Jehol Biota coincides with the initial and peak stages of the North China craton destruction in the Early Cretaceous, and thus the biotic evolution is related to the North China craton destruction. However, it remains largely unknown how the tectonic activities impacted the development of the Jehol Biota in northeast China and other contemporaneous biotas in neighboring areas in East and Central Asia. It is proposed that the Early Cretaceous rift basins migrated eastward in the northern margin of the North China craton and the Great Xing'an Range, and the migration is regarded to have resulted from eastward retreat of the subducting paleo-Pacific plate. The diachronous development of the rift basins led to the lateral variations of stratigraphic sequences and depositional environments, which in turn influenced the spatiotemporal evolution of the Jehol Biota. This study represents an effort to explore the linkage between terrestrial biota evolution and regional tectonics and how plate tectonics constrained the evolution of a terrestrial biota through various surface geological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhonghe Zhou
- 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
| | - Qingren Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Rixiang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Min Wang
- 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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17
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Mayr G, Kaye TG, Pittman M, Saitta ET, Pott C. Reanalysis of putative ovarian follicles suggests that Early Cretaceous birds were feeding not breeding. Sci Rep 2020; 10:19035. [PMID: 33149245 PMCID: PMC7643104 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76078-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
We address the identity of putative ovarian follicles in Early Cretaceous bird fossils from the Jehol Biota (China), whose identification has previously been challenged. For the first time, we present a link to the botanical fossil record, showing that the "follicles" of some enantiornithine fossils resemble plant propagules from the Jehol Biota, which belong to Carpolithes multiseminalis. The botanical affinities of this "form-taxon" are currently unresolved, but we note that C. multiseminalis propagules resemble propagules associated with cone-like organs described as Strobilites taxusoides, which in turn are possibly associated with sterile foliage allocated to Liaoningcladus. Laser-Stimulated Fluorescence imaging furthermore reveals different intensities of fluorescence of "follicles" associated with a skeleton of the confuciusornithid Eoconfuciusornis zhengi, with a non-fluorescent circular micro-pattern indicating carbonaceous (or originally carbonaceous) matter. This is inconsistent with the interpretation of these structures as ovarian follicles. We therefore reaffirm that the "follicles" represent ingested food items, and even though the exact nature of the Eoconfuciusornis stomach contents remains elusive, at least some enantiornithines ingested plant propagules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerald Mayr
- Ornithological Section, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - Thomas G Kaye
- Foundation for Scientific Advancement, 7023 Alhambra Drive, Sierra Vista, Arizona, 85650, USA
| | - Michael Pittman
- Vertebrate Palaeontology Laboratory, Division of Earth and Planetary Science, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Evan T Saitta
- Integrative Research Center, Life Sciences Section, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, 60605, USA
| | - Christian Pott
- LWL-Museum of Natural History, Westphalian State Museum with Planetarium, Sentruper Straße 285, 48161, Münster, Germany
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18
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Bailleul AM, O'Connor J, Li Z, Wu Q, Zhao T, Martinez Monleon MA, Wang M, Zheng X. Confirmation of ovarian follicles in an enantiornithine (Aves) from the Jehol biota using soft tissue analyses. Commun Biol 2020; 3:399. [PMID: 32724075 PMCID: PMC7387556 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-01131-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The remains of ovarian follicles reported in nine specimens of basal birds represents one of the most remarkable examples of soft-tissue preservation in the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota. This discovery was immediately contested and the structures alternatively interpreted as ingested seeds. Fragments of the purported follicles preserved in an enantiornithine (STM10-12) were extracted and subjected to multiple high-resolution analyses. The structures in STM10-12 possess the histological and histochemical characteristics of smooth muscles fibers intertwined together with collagen fibers, resembling the contractile structure in the perifollicular membrane (PFM) of living birds. Fossilized blood vessels, very abundant in extant PFMs, are also preserved. Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy shows the preserved tissues primarily underwent alumino-silicification, with minor mineralization via iron oxides. No evidence of plant tissue was found. These results confirm the original interpretation as follicles within the left ovary, supporting the interpretation that the right ovary was functionally lost early in avian evolution. Bailleul et al. employ histology, histochemistry and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy to confirm the presence of disputed ovarian follicles in a specimen of fossil Cretaceous bird. These findings have implications for the evolution of the avian breeding system seen in birds today.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alida M Bailleul
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100044, Beijing, China. .,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, 100044, Beijing, China.
| | - Jingmai O'Connor
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100044, Beijing, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, 100044, Beijing, China
| | - Zhiheng Li
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100044, Beijing, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, 100044, Beijing, China
| | - Qian Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100044, Beijing, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, 100044, Beijing, China
| | - Tao Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 210008, Nanjing, China
| | | | - Min Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100044, Beijing, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, 100044, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoting Zheng
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, 276005, Linyi City, Shandong, China.,Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, 273300, Linyi City, Shandong, China
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19
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The appearance and duration of the Jehol Biota: Constraint from SIMS U-Pb zircon dating for the Huajiying Formation in northern China. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:14299-14305. [PMID: 32513701 PMCID: PMC7322064 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1918272117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The Jehol Biota is well known for producing exceptionally preserved specimens of feathered dinosaurs, early birds, mammals, as well as insects and early flowering plants, thus providing key evidence for understanding the early evolution of birds and for reconstructing the Early Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystem. Here, we present eight SIMS U-Pb zircon ages from the Huajiying Formation, the lowest Jehol fossil-bearing deposits in northern China, which have placed stringent age controls on the early phase of the Jehol Biota, and have extended the temporal range of the Jehol Biota to over 15 My. Our findings will shed light on the evolutionary radiation of the Jehol Biota as well as the origins of major vertebrate groups in the Early Cretaceous. The Lower Cretaceous Huajiying Formation of the Sichakou Basin in northern Hebei Province, northern China contains key vertebrate taxa of the early Jehol Biota, e.g., Protopteryx fengningensis, Archaeornithura meemannae, Peipiaosteus fengningensis, and Eoconfuciusornis zhengi. This formation arguably documents the second-oldest bird-bearing horizon, producing the oldest fossil records of the two major Mesozoic avian groups Enantiornithes and Ornithuromorpha. Hence, precisely determining the depositional ages of the Huajiying Formation would advance our understanding of the evolutionary history of the Jehol Biota. Here we present secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) U-Pb zircon analysis results of eight interbedded tuff/tuffaceous sandstone samples from the Huajiying Formation. Our findings, combined with previous radiometric dates, suggest that the oldest enantiornithine and ornithuromorph birds in the Jehol Biota are ∼129−131 Ma, and that the Jehol Biota most likely first appeared at ∼135 Ma. This expands the biota’s temporal distribution from late Valanginian to middle Aptian with a time span of about 15 My.
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20
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Imai T, Azuma Y, Kawabe S, Shibata M, Miyata K, Wang M, Zhou Z. An unusual bird (Theropoda, Avialae) from the Early Cretaceous of Japan suggests complex evolutionary history of basal birds. Commun Biol 2019; 2:399. [PMID: 31754639 PMCID: PMC6856171 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-019-0639-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 09/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The Early Cretaceous basal birds were known largely from just two-dimensionally preserved specimens from north-eastern China (Jehol Biota), which has hindered our understanding of the early evolution of birds. Here, we present a three-dimensionally-preserved skeleton (FPDM-V-9769) of a basal bird from the Early Cretaceous of Fukui, central Japan. Unique features in the pygostyle and humerus allow the assignment of FPDM-V-9769 to a new taxon, Fukuipteryx prima. FPDM-V-9769 exhibits a set of features comparable to that of other basalmost birds including Archaeopteryx. Osteohistological analyses indicate that FPDM-V-9769 is subadult. Phylogenetic analyses resolve F. prima as a non-ornithothoracine avialan basal to Jeholornis and outgroup of the Pygostylia. This phylogenetic result may imply a complex evolutionary history of basal birds. To our knowledge, FPDM-V-9769 represents the first record of the Early Cretaceous non-ornithothoracine avialan outside of the Jehol Biota and increases our understanding of their diversity and distribution during the time.
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Affiliation(s)
- 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
| | - 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
| | - 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
| | - 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
| | - Kazunori Miyata
- Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, 51-11 Terao, Muroko, Katsuyama, Fukui 911-8601 Japan
| | - Min Wang
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 142 Xizhimenwai Street, 100044 Beijing, China
- Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 142 Xizhimenwai Street, 100044 Beijing, China
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 142 Xizhimenwai Street, 100044 Beijing, China
- Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 142 Xizhimenwai Street, 100044 Beijing, China
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21
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Ferrodraco lentoni gen. et sp. nov., a new ornithocheirid pterosaur from the Winton Formation (Cenomanian-lower Turonian) of Queensland, Australia. Sci Rep 2019; 9:13454. [PMID: 31582757 PMCID: PMC6776501 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-49789-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 08/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The Australian pterosaur record is poor by world standards, comprising fewer than 20 fragmentary specimens. Herein, we describe the new genus and species Ferrodraco lentoni gen. et sp. nov., based on the most complete pterosaur specimen ever found in Australia, and the first reported from the Winton Formation (Cenomanian–lower Turonian). The presence of premaxillary and mandibular crests, and spike-shaped teeth with subcircular bases, enable Ferrodraco to be referred to Anhangueria. Ferrodraco can be distinguished from all other anhanguerian pterosaurs based on two dental characters: the first premaxillary and mandibular tooth pairs are small; and the fourth–seventh tooth pairs are smaller than the third and eighth ones. Ferrodraco was included in a phylogenetic analysis of Pterosauria and resolved as the sister taxon to Mythunga camara (upper Albian Toolebuc Formation, Australia), with that clade occupying the most derived position within Ornithocheiridae. Ornithocheirus simus (Albian Cambridge Greensand, England), Coloborhynchus clavirostris (Valanginian Hastings Sands, England), and Tropeognathus mesembrinus (upper Aptian–lower Albian Romualdo Formation, Brazil) were resolved as successive sister taxa, which suggests that ornithocheirids were cosmopolitan during the Albian–Cenomanian. Furthermore, the stratigraphic age of Ferrodraco lentoni (Cenomanian–lower Turonian) implies that anhanguerians might have survived later in Australia than elsewhere.
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22
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Evolution of the vomer and its implications for cranial kinesis in Paraves. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:19571-19578. [PMID: 31501339 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1907754116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Most living birds exhibit cranial kinesis-movement between the rostrum and braincase-in which force is transferred through the palatal and jugal bars. The palate alone distinguishes the Paleognathae from the Neognathae, with cranial kinesis more developed in neognaths. Most previous palatal studies were based on 2D data and rarely incorporated data from stem birds despite great interest in their kinetic abilities. Here we reconstruct the vomer of the Early Cretaceous stem bird Sapeornis and the troodontid Sinovenator, taxa spanning the dinosaur-bird transition. A 3D shape analysis including these paravians and an extensive sampling of neornithines reveals their strong similarity to paleognaths and indicates that morphological differences in the vomer between paleognaths and neognaths are intimately related to their different kinetic abilities. These results suggest the skull of Mesozoic paravians lacked the kinetic abilities observed in neognaths, a conclusion also supported by our identification of an ectopterygoid in Sapeornis here. We conclude that cranial kinesis evolved relatively late, likely an innovation of the Neognathae, and is linked to the transformation of the vomer. This transformation increased palatal mobility, enabling the evolution of a diversity of kinetic mechanisms and ultimately contributing to the extraordinary evolutionary success of this clade.
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23
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Chen M, Strömberg CAE, Wilson GP. Assembly of modern mammal community structure driven by Late Cretaceous dental evolution, rise of flowering plants, and dinosaur demise. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:9931-9940. [PMID: 31036651 PMCID: PMC6525522 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1820863116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The long-standing view that Mesozoic mammaliaforms living in dinosaur-dominated ecosystems were ecologically constrained to small size and insectivory has been challenged by astonishing fossil discoveries over the last three decades. By studying these well-preserved early mammaliaform specimens, paleontologists now agree that mammaliaforms underwent ecomorphological diversification during the Mesozoic Era. This implies that Mesozoic mammaliaform communities had ecological structure and breadth that were comparable to today's small-bodied mammalian communities. However, this hypothesis remains untested in part because the primary focus of most studies is on individual taxa. Here, we present a study quantifying the ecological structure of Mesozoic mammaliaform communities with the aim of identifying evolutionary and ecological drivers that influenced the deep-time assembly of small-bodied mammaliaform communities. We used body size, dietary preference, and locomotor mode to establish the ecospace occupation of 98 extant, small-bodied mammalian communities from diverse biomes around the world. We calculated ecological disparity and ecological richness to measure the magnitude of ecological differences among species in a community and the number of different eco-cells occupied by species of a community, respectively. This modern dataset served as a reference for analyzing five exceptionally preserved, extinct mammaliaform communities (two Jurassic, two Cretaceous, one Eocene) from Konservat-Lagerstätten. Our results indicate that the interplay of at least three factors, namely the evolution of the tribosphenic molar, the ecological rise of angiosperms, and potential competition with other vertebrates, may have been critical in shaping the ecological structure of small-bodied mammaliaform communities through time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Chen
- School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China;
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Caroline A E Strömberg
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1800
- Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-3010
| | - Gregory P Wilson
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1800;
- Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-3010
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24
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Abstract
Dinosaurs were large-bodied land animals of the Mesozoic that gave rise to birds. They played a fundamental role in structuring Jurassic–Cretaceous ecosystems and had physiology, growth, and reproductive biology unlike those of extant animals. These features have made them targets of theoretical macroecology. Dinosaurs achieved substantial structural diversity, and their fossil record documents the evolutionary assembly of the avian body plan. Phylogeny-based research has allowed new insights into dinosaur macroevolution, including the adaptive landscape of their body size evolution, patterns of species diversification, and the origins of birds and bird-like traits. Nevertheless, much remains unknown due to incompleteness of the fossil record at both local and global scales. This presents major challenges at the frontier of paleobiological research regarding tests of macroecological hypotheses and the effects of dinosaur biology, ecology, and life history on their macroevolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger B.J. Benson
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3AN, United Kingdom
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25
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The earliest evidence for a supraorbital salt gland in dinosaurs in new Early Cretaceous ornithurines. Sci Rep 2018; 8:3969. [PMID: 29507398 PMCID: PMC5838252 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-22412-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2017] [Accepted: 02/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Supraorbital fossae occur when salt glands are well developed, a condition most pronounced in marine and desert-dwelling taxa in which salt regulation is key. Here, we report the first specimens from lacustrine environments of the Jehol Biota that preserve a distinct fossa above the orbit, where the salt gland fossa is positioned in living birds. The Early Cretaceous ornithurine bird specimens reported here are about 40 million years older than previously reported Late Cretaceous marine birds and represent the earliest described occurrence of the fossa. We find no evidence of avian salt gland fossae in phylogenetically earlier stem birds or non-avialan dinosaurs, even in those argued to be predominantly marine or desert dwelling. The apparent absence of this feature in more basal dinosaurs may indicate that it is only after miniaturization close to the origin of flight that excretory mechanisms were favored over exclusively renal mechanisms of salt regulation resulting in an increase in gland size leaving a bony trace. The ecology of ornithurine birds is more diverse than in other stem birds and may have included seasonal shifts in foraging range, or, the environments of some of the Jehol lakes may have included more pronounced periods of high salinity.
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26
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Serrano FJ, Chiappe LM. Aerodynamic modelling of a Cretaceous bird reveals thermal soaring capabilities during early avian evolution. J R Soc Interface 2018; 14:rsif.2017.0182. [PMID: 28724626 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2017.0182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2017] [Accepted: 06/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Several flight modes are thought to have evolved during the early evolution of birds. Here, we use a combination of computational modelling and morphofunctional analyses to infer the flight properties of the raven-sized, Early Cretaceous bird Sapeornis chaoyangensis-a likely candidate to have evolved soaring capabilities. Specifically, drawing information from (i) mechanical inferences of the deltopectoral crest of the humerus, (ii) wing shape (i.e. aspect ratio), (iii) estimations of power margin (i.e. difference between power required for flight and available power from muscles), (iv) gliding behaviour (i.e. forward speed and sinking speed), and (v) palaeobiological evidence, we conclude that S. chaoyangensis was a thermal soarer with an ecology similar to that of living South American screamers. Our results indicate that as early as 125 Ma, some birds evolved the morphological and aerodynamic requirements for soaring on continental thermals, a conclusion that highlights the degree of ecological, functional and behavioural diversity that resulted from the first major evolutionary radiation of birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco José Serrano
- The Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA .,Fundación Sierra Elvira, Avenida de Andalucía no 139, Atarfe, 18230 Granada, Spain.,Departamento de Ecología y Geología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, Campus Universitario de Teatinos s/n, 29071 Málaga, Spain
| | - Luis María Chiappe
- The Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
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27
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Wang M, Li Z, Zhou Z. Insight into the growth pattern and bone fusion of basal birds from an Early Cretaceous enantiornithine bird. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:11470-11475. [PMID: 29073073 PMCID: PMC5664513 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1707237114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Bird skeletons exhibit remarkable modifications that allow for flight. The most distinguishable features are the fusion of the bones in the hand, feet, and pelvis into composite rigid and bony structures. However, the historical origins of these avian bone fusions remain elusive because of the rarity of transitional fossils and developmental studies on modern birds. Here, we describe an Early Cretaceous bird (120 Mya) that has fully fused alular-major metacarpals and pelvis. We discuss the manus and pelvis fusions across Paravian phylogeny and demonstrate that these features evolved independently across nonavian theropods, Enantiornithes, and Ornithuromorpha. The fusions of these bones are rare in known nonavian theropods and Early Cretaceous birds but are well established among Late Cretaceous and modern birds, revealing a complicated evolution pattern unrecognized previously. We posit that the developments of bone fusion were polymorphic close to the origin of birds, resulting in the varying degrees of fusion in Paraves. However, that development polymorphism appears to be fundamentally restricted along the line to modern birds by the Late Cretaceous, where all birds have a completely fused manus and pelvis. Such changes likely correspond to a refinement of flight capability. Alternatively, the degree of bone fusion in this primitive bird may have been related to modifications in genes or developmental paths. Future studies and fossil discoveries are required to clarify these hypotheses and pinpoint the developmental pathways involving the bone fusions in early avian evolution through to their modern pattern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Wang
- 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
| | - Zhiheng Li
- 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
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- 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
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28
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Wang M, O'Connor JK, Pan Y, Zhou Z. A bizarre Early Cretaceous enantiornithine bird with unique crural feathers and an ornithuromorph plough-shaped pygostyle. Nat Commun 2017; 8:14141. [PMID: 28139644 PMCID: PMC5290326 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2016] [Accepted: 11/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Enantiornithes are the most successful clade of Mesozoic birds. Here, we describe a new enantiornithine bird, Cruralispennia multidonta gen. et sp. nov., from the Protopteryx-horizon of the Early Cretaceous Huajiying Formation of China. Despite being among the oldest known enantiornithines, Cruralispennia displays derived morphologies that are unexpected at such an early stage in the evolution of this clade. A plough-shaped pygostyle, like that of the Ornithuromorpha, evolved convergently in the Cruralispennia lineage, highlighting the homoplastic nature of early avian evolution. The extremely slender coracoid morphology was previously unknown among Early Cretaceous enantiornithines but is common in Late Cretaceous taxa, indicating that by 131 million years ago this clade had already experienced considerable morphological differentiation. Cruralispennia preserves unusual crural feathers that are proximally wire-like with filamentous distal tips, a new morphotype previously unknown among fossil or modern feathers, further increasing the known diversity of primitive feather morphologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Wang
- 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
| | - Jingmai K O'Connor
- 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
| | - Yanhong Pan
- Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- 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
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29
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Wang M, Hu H. A Comparative Morphological Study of the Jugal and Quadratojugal in Early Birds and Their Dinosaurian Relatives. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2016; 300:62-75. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.23446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2016] [Revised: 03/03/2016] [Accepted: 03/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Min Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Beijing China
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy; Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Nanjing China
| | - Han Hu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Beijing China
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30
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Abstract
Birds are one of the most recognizable and diverse groups of modern vertebrates. Over the past two decades, a wealth of new fossil discoveries and phylogenetic and macroevolutionary studies has transformed our understanding of how birds originated and became so successful. Birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs during the Jurassic (around 165-150 million years ago) and their classic small, lightweight, feathered, and winged body plan was pieced together gradually over tens of millions of years of evolution rather than in one burst of innovation. Early birds diversified throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous, becoming capable fliers with supercharged growth rates, but were decimated at the end-Cretaceous extinction alongside their close dinosaurian relatives. After the mass extinction, modern birds (members of the avian crown group) explosively diversified, culminating in more than 10,000 species distributed worldwide today.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen L Brusatte
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, King's Buildings, James Hutton Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FE, UK.
| | - Jingmai K O'Connor
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Erich D Jarvis
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA.
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31
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Wang M, Zhou Z, Sullivan C. A Fish-Eating Enantiornithine Bird from the Early Cretaceous of China Provides Evidence of Modern Avian Digestive Features. Curr Biol 2016; 26:1170-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.02.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2015] [Revised: 01/19/2016] [Accepted: 02/19/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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32
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Wang M, Lloyd GT. Rates of morphological evolution are heterogeneous in Early Cretaceous birds. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:20160214. [PMID: 27053742 PMCID: PMC4843658 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.0214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2016] [Accepted: 03/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The Early Cretaceous is a critical interval in the early history of birds. Exceptional fossils indicate that important evolutionary novelties such as a pygostyle and a keeled sternum had already arisen in Early Cretaceous taxa, bridging much of the morphological gap between Archaeopteryx and crown birds. However, detailed features of basal bird evolution remain obscure because of both the small sample of fossil taxa previously considered and a lack of quantitative studies assessing rates of morphological evolution. Here we apply a recently available phylogenetic method and associated sensitivity tests to a large data matrix of morphological characters to quantify rates of morphological evolution in Early Cretaceous birds. Our results reveal that although rates were highly heterogeneous between different Early Cretaceous avian lineages, consistent patterns of significantly high or low rates were harder to pinpoint. Nevertheless, evidence for accelerated evolutionary rates is strongest at the point when Ornithuromorpha (the clade comprises all extant birds and descendants from their most recent common ancestors) split from Enantiornithes (a diverse clade that went extinct at the end-Cretaceous), consistent with the hypothesis that this key split opened up new niches and ultimately led to greater diversity for these two dominant clades of Mesozoic birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 142 Xizhimenwai Street, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
| | - Graeme T Lloyd
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
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33
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Wang M, Wang X, Wang Y, Zhou Z. A new basal bird from China with implications for morphological diversity in early birds. Sci Rep 2016; 6:19700. [PMID: 26806355 PMCID: PMC4726217 DOI: 10.1038/srep19700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2015] [Accepted: 12/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The Chinese Lower Cretaceous Jehol Group is the second oldest fossil bird-bearing deposit, only surpassed by Archaeopteryx from the German Upper Jurassic Solnhofen Limestones. Here we report a new bird, Chongmingia zhengi gen. et sp. nov., from the Jehol Biota. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that Chongmingia zhengi is basal to the dominant Mesozoic avian clades Enantiornithes and Ornithuromorpha, and represents a new basal avialan lineage. This new discovery adds to our knowledge regarding the phylogenetic differentiation and morphological diversity in early avian evolution. The furcula of Chongmingia is rigid (reducing its efficiency), consequently requiring more power for flight. However, the elongated forelimb and the large deltopectoral crest on the humerus might indicate that the power was available. The unique combination of features present in this species demonstrates that numerous evolutionary experimentations took place in the early evolution of powered flight. The occurrence of gastroliths further confirms that herbivory was common among basal birds. The Jehol birds faced competition with pterosaurs, and occupied sympatric habitats with non-avian theropods, some of which consumed birds. Thus, avialan herbivory may have reduced ecological competition from carnivorous close relatives and other volant vertebrates early in their evolutionary history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Wang
- 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.,State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China
| | - Xiaoli Wang
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi, Shandong 276000, China.,Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi, Shandong 273300, China
| | - Yan Wang
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi, Shandong 276000, China.,Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi, Shandong 273300, China
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- 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
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34
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Wang M, Zhou Z, Zhou S. A new basal ornithuromorph bird (Aves: Ornithothoraces) from the Early Cretaceous of China with implication for morphology of early Ornithuromorpha. Zool J Linn Soc 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/zoj.12302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Min Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; 142 Xizhimenwai Street Beijing 100044 China
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; 142 Xizhimenwai Street Beijing 100044 China
| | - Shuang Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; 142 Xizhimenwai Street Beijing 100044 China
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