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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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Henderson S, Dunne EM, Fasey SA, Giles S. The early diversification of ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii): hypotheses, challenges and future prospects. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:284-315. [PMID: 36192821 PMCID: PMC10091770 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 09/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Actinopterygii makes up half of living vertebrate diversity, and study of fossil members during their Palaeozoic rise to dominance has a long history of descriptive work. Although research interest into Palaeozoic actinopterygians has increased in recent years, broader patterns of diversity and diversity dynamics remain critically understudied. Past studies have investigated macroevolutionary trends in Palaeozoic actinopterygians in a piecemeal fashion, variably using existing compendia of vertebrates or literature-based searches. Here, we present a comprehensive occurrence-based dataset of actinopterygians spanning the whole of the Palaeozoic. We use this to produce the first through-Palaeozoic trends in genus and species counts for Actinopterygii. Diversity through time generally tracks metrics for sampling, while major taxonomic problems pervading the Palaeozoic actinopterygian record obscure diversity trends. Many described species are concentrated in several particularly problematic 'waste-basket' genera, hiding considerable morphological and taxonomic diversity. This taxonomic confusion also feeds into a limited understanding of phylogenetic relationships. A heavy sampling bias towards Europe and North America exists in both occurrence databases and available phylogenetic matrices, with other regions underrepresented despite yielding important data. Scrutiny of the extent to which spatial biases influence the actinopterygian record is lacking, as is research on other forms of bias. Low richness in some time periods may be linked to geological biases, while the effects of taphonomic biases on Palaeozoic actinopterygians have not yet been investigated. Efforts are already underway both to redescribe poorly defined taxa and to describe taxa from underrepresented regions, helping to address taxonomic issues and accuracy of occurrence data. New methods of sampling standardisation utilising up-to-date occurrence databases will be critical in teasing apart biological changes in diversity and those resulting from bias. Lastly, continued phylogenetic work will enable the use of phylogenetic comparative methods to elucidate the origins of actinopterygian biogeography and subsequent patterns of radiation throughout their rise to dominate aquatic faunas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Struan Henderson
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Emma M Dunne
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.,GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Loewenichstraße 28, Erlangen, 91054, Germany
| | - Sophie A Fasey
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Sam Giles
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.,Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK
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Maidment SCR, Dean CD, Mansergh RI, Butler RJ. Deep-time biodiversity patterns and the dinosaurian fossil record of the Late Cretaceous Western Interior, North America. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210692. [PMID: 34157868 PMCID: PMC8220268 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In order for palaeontological data to be informative to ecologists seeking to understand the causes of today's diversity patterns, palaeontologists must demonstrate that actual biodiversity patterns are preserved in our reconstructions of past ecosystems. During the Late Cretaceous, North America was divided into two landmasses, Laramidia and Appalachia. Previous work has suggested strong faunal provinciality on Laramidia at this time, but these arguments are almost entirely qualitative. We quantitatively investigated faunal provinciality in ceratopsid and hadrosaurid dinosaurs using a biogeographic network approach and investigated sampling biases by examining correlations between dinosaur occurrences and collections. We carried out a model-fitting approach using generalized least-squares regression to investigate the sources of sampling bias we identified. We find that while the raw data strongly support faunal provinciality, this result is driven by sampling bias. The data quality of ceratopsids and hadrosaurids is currently too poor to enable fair tests of provincialism, even in this intensively sampled region, which probably represents the best-known Late Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. To accurately reconstruct biodiversity patterns in deep time, future work should focus on smaller scale, higher resolution case studies in which the effects of sampling bias can be better controlled.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susannah C R Maidment
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK.,School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Christopher D Dean
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Robert I Mansergh
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK.,Department of Earth Sciences, 5 Gower Place, London WC1E 6BS, UK
| | - Richard J Butler
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
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