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Goloboff PA. Wincladtree: Publication-quality tree-diagrams with TNT scripts. Cladistics 2024; 40:438-442. [PMID: 38411553 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2024] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024] Open
Abstract
This note describes the implementation and use of wincladtree, a TNT script to plot publication-quality tree-diagrams. This is intended to assist analysis of morphological datasets, where displaying the synapomorphies for the different groups in a compact "Hennigian" style is the norm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo A Goloboff
- Unidad Ejecutora Lillo, UEL (CONICET-Fundación Miguel Lillo), Miguel Lillo 251, 4000, S.M. de Tucumán, Argentina
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2
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Perrichon G, Pochat-Cottilloux Y, Conedera D, Richardin P, Fernandez V, Hautier L, Martin JE. Neuroanatomy and pneumaticity of the extinct Malagasy "horned" crocodile Voay robustus and its implications for crocodylid phylogeny and palaeoecology. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024; 307:2749-2786. [PMID: 38116895 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
Voay robustus, the extinct Malagasy "horned" crocodile, was originally considered to be the only crocodylian representative in Madagascar during most part of the Holocene. However, Malagasy crocodylian remains have had confused taxonomic attributions and recent studies have underlined that Crocodylus and Voay populations coexisted on the island for at least 7500 years. Here, we describe the inner braincase anatomy of Voay robustus using x-ray computed tomography on four specimens, to provide new anatomical information that distinguishes Voay from Crocodylus, especially features of the brain endocast and the paratympanic sinuses. Geometric morphometric analyses are performed on 3D models of the internal organs to compare statistically Voay with a subset of extant Crocodylidae. Following these comparisons, we build an endocranial morphological matrix to discuss the proposed phylogenetic affinities of Voay with Osteolaeminae from an endocranial point of view. Additionally, we discuss the use of internal characters in systematic studies and find that they can have a major impact on morphological analyses. Finally, new radiocarbon data on Voay and subfossil Crocodylus specimens are recovered between 2010 and 2750 cal BP, which confirm the cohabitation of the two species in the same area for a long period of time. We thus assess several extinction scenarios, and propose a slightly different ecology of Voay compared to Crocodylus, which could have allowed habitat partitioning on the island. Our approach complements information obtained from previous molecular and morphological phylogenies, as well as previous radiocarbon dating, together revealing past diversity and faunal turnovers in Madagascar.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwendal Perrichon
- CNRS UMR 5276, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, ENS de Lyon, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon-Terre, Planètes, Environnement, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Yohan Pochat-Cottilloux
- CNRS UMR 5276, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, ENS de Lyon, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon-Terre, Planètes, Environnement, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Davide Conedera
- CNRS UMR 5276, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, ENS de Lyon, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon-Terre, Planètes, Environnement, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Pascale Richardin
- Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France (C2RMF), Palais du Louvre, Porte des Lions, Paris, France
- CNRS-UMR 8068, Technologie Ethnologie des Mondes Préhistoriques (TEMPS), Université Paris Nanterre, Nanterre Cedex, France
| | - Vincent Fernandez
- Imaging and Analysis Centre, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble, France
| | - Lionel Hautier
- Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution, Université Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
- Mammal Section, Life Sciences, Vertebrate Division, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Jeremy E Martin
- CNRS UMR 5276, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, ENS de Lyon, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon-Terre, Planètes, Environnement, Villeurbanne, France
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Joele FR, Dias Filho MM, Jasso-Martínez JM, Garzón-Orduña IJ. Phylogenomics of the geometrid tribe Palyadini (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) reveals contrasting patterns of phylogenetic signal in wing colour characters. Cladistics 2024; 40:374-390. [PMID: 38532274 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12574] [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: 12/12/2023] [Revised: 02/04/2024] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Next generation sequencing techniques currently represent a practical and efficient way to infer robust evolutionary hypotheses. Palyadini is a small Neotropical tribe of geometrid moths composed of six genera that feature strikingly colourful wings. Here, we investigated patterns of evolution and amount of phylogenetic signal contained in various colour characters featured in the wings of members of this tribe by (i) inferring a robust phylogenetic hypothesis using ultraconserved elements (UCEs), and afterwards, (ii) mapping the morphological characters onto the molecular topology under a parsimonious ancestral character optimization. Our matrix, obtained with 60% completeness, includes 754 UCE loci and 73 taxa (64 ingroup, nine outgroup). Maximum likelihood and parsimony generated largely identical topologies with strongly supported nodes, except for one node inside the genus Opisthoxia. According to our topology, most wing colour characters are reconstructed as homoplastic, particularly at the tribe level, but five of the seven provide evidence supporting common ancestry at the genus level. Our results emphasize, once again, that no character system is infallible, and that more research is necessary to take our understanding of the evolution of wing colour in moths to a level comparable with the knowledge we have for butterflies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flávia R Joele
- Laboratorio de Sistemática de Polillas, Departamento de Zoología, Colección Nacional de Insectos, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Cto. Zona Deportiva S/N, C.U. Coyocan., CDMX, 04510, Mexico
- Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Edificio D, 1° Piso. Circuito de Posgrados, CU. Coyoacan, CDMX, 04510, Mexico
| | - Manoel M Dias Filho
- Departamento de Ecologia e Biologia Evolutiva, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Rod. Washington Luís, s/n - Monjolinho., Sao Carlos, 13565-905, Brazil
| | - Jovana M Jasso-Martínez
- Departamento de Zoología, Colección Nacional de Insectos Instituto de Biología, UNAM, Cto. Zona Deportiva S/N, C.U. Coyocan., CDMX, 04510, Mexico
- Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, 20560, USA
| | - Ivonne J Garzón-Orduña
- Laboratorio de Sistemática de Polillas, Departamento de Zoología, Colección Nacional de Insectos, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Cto. Zona Deportiva S/N, C.U. Coyocan., CDMX, 04510, Mexico
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4
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De Laet J, Goloboff PA. Nothing to it: a reply to Wheeler's "much ado about nothing". Cladistics 2024; 40:456-467. [PMID: 38345481 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2023] [Revised: 12/31/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 07/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Wheeler (Cladistics 2023, 39, 475) recently suggested that the issues with inapplicable characters in phylogenetic analysis can be dealt with directly by treating observed absences of a feature not in a separate absence/presence character but as insertion/deletion events in a complex character that describes the feature in all its variation; and that this dynamic homology view can be achieved by imposing a sequence or linear order on a set of characters and by analysing the resulting sequence character using custom alphabet tree alignment algorithms. As Wheeler observed, this approach can lead to considering inappropriate character states (such as a head state and a foot state) homologous. We show that it is also sensitive to the specific ordering assumption used and that such different character orders can lead to a preference for different trees. We present a simple four-taxon dataset with observations of absence, but no inapplicable characters or other kinds of character dependence, for which the dynamic homology framework gives different results to classic algorithms for independent characters, including an optimal tree with biologically impossible reconstructions at inner nodes (every terminal has a head but the inner nodes are headless). We show how these issues can be solved by removing the character ordering assumption that the approach requires. Doing so, the dynamic homology framework reduces in general to Maddison's (Syst. Biol. 1993, 42, 576) well-known proposal to deal with inapplicability using step matrix analysis of complex characters. If in addition costs are interpreted in terms of homology, it reduces to Goloboff et al.'s (Cladistics 2021, 37, 596) step matrix implementation for maximization of homology as applied to inapplicable characters. However, if used with homogeneous costs, as Wheeler suggested, it reduces to unordered analysis of such complex characters, which is known to treat tails that may share many observed features as irrelevant for establishing kinship when they differ in just one feature, e.g. colour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan De Laet
- Meise Botanic Garden, Nieuwelaan 38, Meise, Belgium
| | - Pablo A Goloboff
- Unidad Ejecutora Lillo, UEL (CONICET - Fundación Miguel Lillo), Miguel Lillo 251, 4000, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
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Avrahami HM, Makovicky PJ, Tucker RT, Zanno LE. A new semi-fossorial thescelosaurine dinosaur from the Cenomanian-age Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024. [PMID: 38979930 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2024] [Revised: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Thescelosaurines are a group of early diverging, ornithischian dinosaurs notable for their conservative bauplans and mosaic of primitive features. Although abundant within the latest Cretaceous ecosystems of North America, their record is poor to absent in earlier assemblages, leaving a large gap in our understanding of their evolution, origins, and ecological roles. Here we report a new small bodied thescelosaurine-Fona herzogae gen. et sp. nov.-from the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah, USA. Fona herzogae is represented by multiple individuals, representing one of the most comprehensive skeletal assemblages of a small bodied, early diverging ornithischian described from North America to date. Phylogenetic analysis recovers Fona as the earliest member of Thescelosaurinae, minimally containing Oryctodromeus, and all three species of Thescelosaurus, revealing the clade was well-established in North America by as early as the Cenomanian, and distinct from, yet continental cohabitants with, their sister clade, Orodrominae. To date, orodromines and thescelosaurines have not been found together within a single North American ecosystem, suggesting different habitat preferences or competitive exclusion. Osteological observations reveal extensive intraspecific variation across cranial and postcranial elements, and a number of anatomical similarities with Oryctodromeus, suggesting a shared semi-fossorial lifestyle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haviv M Avrahami
- North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Peter J Makovicky
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Ryan T Tucker
- Department of Earth Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Lindsay E Zanno
- North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
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Daza JD, Stanley EL, Heinicke MP, Leah C, Doucet DS, Fenner KL, Arias JS, Smith RDA, Peretti AM, Aung NN, Bauer AM. Compound osteoderms preserved in amber reveal the oldest known skink. Sci Rep 2024; 14:15662. [PMID: 38977836 PMCID: PMC11231356 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-66451-w] [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: 03/09/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Scincidae is one of the most species-rich and cosmopolitan clades of squamate reptiles. Abundant disarticulated fossil material has also been attributed to this group, however, no complete pre-Cenozoic crown-scincid specimens have been found. A specimen in Burmite (99 MYA) is the first fossil that can be unambiguously referred to this clade. Our analyses place it as nested within extant skinks, supported by the presence of compound osteoderms formed by articulated small ostedermites. The specimen has a combination of dorsal and ventral compound osteoderms and overlapping cycloid scales that is limited to skinks. We propose that this type of osteoderm evolved as a response to an increased overlap of scales, and to reduced stiffness of the dermal armour. Compound osteoderms could be a key innovation that facilitated diversification in this megadiverse family.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan D Daza
- Department of Biological Sciences, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, 77341, USA.
| | - Edward L Stanley
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
| | | | - Chuck Leah
- Houston Museum of Natural Sciences, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Daniel S Doucet
- Department of Biological Sciences, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, 77341, USA
| | - Kelsey L Fenner
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - J Salvador Arias
- Laboratorio de Genética Evolutiva, Instituto de Biología Subtropical, CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Misiones, and Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Químicas y Naturales, 3300, Posadas, Misiones, Argentina
| | - Ru D A Smith
- Jabatan Geologi, University Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Adolf M Peretti
- Peretti Museum Foundation, Baumschulweg, 13, 6045, Meggen, Switzerland
| | - Nyi Nyi Aung
- Peretti Museum Foundation, Baumschulweg, 13, 6045, Meggen, Switzerland
- Myanmar Geosciences Society, Department of Geology, University of Yangon, Yangon, 11041, Myanmar
| | - Aaron M Bauer
- Department of Biology and Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stewardship, Villanova University, Villanova, PA, 19085, USA
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Hoyal Cuthill JF, Lloyd GT. Measuring homoplasy I: comprehensive measures of maximum and minimum cost under parsimony across discrete cost matrix character types. Cladistics 2024. [PMID: 38924583 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Here, we propose, prove mathematically and discuss maximum and minimum measures of maximum parsimony evolution across 12 discrete phylogenetic character types, classified across 4467 morphological and molecular datasets. Covered character types are: constant, binary symmetric, multistate unordered (non-additive) symmetric, multistate linear ordered symmetric, multistate non-linear ordered symmetric, binary irreversible, multistate irreversible, binary Dollo, multistate Dollo, multistate custom symmetric, binary custom asymmetric and multistate custom asymmetric characters. We summarize published solutions and provide and prove a range of new formulae for the algebraic calculation of minimum (m), maximum (g) and maximum possible (gmax) character cost for applicable character types. Algorithms for exhaustive calculation of m, g and gmax applicable to all classified character types (within computational limits on the numbers of taxa and states) are also provided. The general algorithmic solution for minimum steps (m) is identical to a minimum spanning tree on the state graph or minimum weight spanning arborescence on the state digraph. Algorithmic solutions for character g and gmax are based on matrix mathematics equivalent to optimization on the star tree, respectively for given state frequencies and all possible state frequencies meeting specified numbers of taxa and states. We show that maximizing possible cost (gmax) with given transition costs can be equivalent to maximizing, across all possible state frequency combinations, the lowest implied cost of state transitions if any one state is ancestral on the star tree, via the solution of systems of linear equations. The methods we present, implemented in the Claddis R package, extend to a comprehensive range, the fundamental character types for which homoplasy may be measured under parsimony using m, g and gmax, including extra cost (h), consistency index (ci), retention index (ri) or indices based thereon.
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8
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Ezcurra MD. Exploring the effects of weighting against homoplasy in genealogies of palaeontological phylogenetic matrices. Cladistics 2024; 40:242-281. [PMID: 38728134 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Although simulations have shown that implied weighting (IW) outperforms equal weighting (EW) in phylogenetic parsimony analyses, weighting against homoplasy lacks extensive usage in palaeontology. Iterative modifications of several phylogenetic matrices in the last decades resulted in extensive genealogies of datasets that allow the evaluation of differences in the stability of results for alternative character weighting methods directly on empirical data. Each generation was compared against the most recent generation in each genealogy because it is assumed that it is the most comprehensive (higher sampling), revised (fewer misscorings) and complete (lower amount of missing data) matrix of the genealogy. The analyses were conducted on six different genealogies under EW and IW and extended implied weighting (EIW) with a range of concavity constant values (k) between 3 and 30. Pairwise comparisons between trees were conducted using Robinson-Foulds distances normalized by the total number of groups, distortion coefficient, subtree pruning and regrafting moves, and the proportional sum of group dissimilarities. The results consistently show that IW and EIW produce results more similar to those of the last dataset than EW in the vast majority of genealogies and for all comparative measures. This is significant because almost all of these matrices were originally analysed only under EW. Implied weighting and EIW do not outperform each other unambiguously. Euclidean distances based on a principal components analysis of the comparative measures show that different ranges of k-values retrieve the most similar results to the last generation in different genealogies. There is a significant positive linear correlation between the optimal k-values and the number of terminals of the last generations. This could be employed to inform about the range of k-values to be used in phylogenetic analyses based on matrix size but with the caveat that this emergent relationship still relies on a low sample size of genealogies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martín D Ezcurra
- Sección Paleontología de Vertebrados, CONICET-Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK
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Goloboff PA, De Laet J. Farewell to the requirement for character independence: phylogenetic methods to incorporate different types of dependence between characters. Cladistics 2024; 40:209-241. [PMID: 38014464 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Revised: 10/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023] Open
Abstract
This paper discusses methods to take into account interactions between characters, in the context of parsimony analysis. These interactions can be in the form of some characters becoming inapplicable given certain states of other, primary characters; in the form of only certain states being allowed in some characters when a given state or set of states occurs for other characters; or in the form of transformation costs in some character being higher or lower when other characters have certain states or transformations between states. Character-state reconstructions and evaluation of trees under the assumption of independence may easily lead to ancestral assignments that violate elementary rules of biomechanics, well-established theories relating form and function or ideas about character co-variation. An obvious example is reconstructing an ancestral bird as wingless and flying at the same time; another is reconstructing a protein-coding gene as having a stop codon in some ancestors. If the characters are optimized independently, such chimeric ancestral reconstructions can occur even when no terminal displays the impossible combination of states. A set of conventions (implemented via new TNT commands and options) allows the definition of complex rules of interaction. By recoding groups of characters with proper step-matrix costs (and excluding impossible combinations from the set of permissible states), it is possible to find the ancestral reconstructions that maximize homology (and thus the degree to which similarities can be explained by common ancestry), within the constraints imposed by the rules specified by the user. We expect that considerations of biomechanics, functional morphology and natural history will be a source of many theories on possible character dependences, and that the present implementation will encourage users to take the possibility of character dependences into account in their phylogenetic analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo A Goloboff
- Unidad Ejecutora Lillo, UEL (CONICET-Fundación Miguel Lillo), Miguel Lillo 251, 4000, S.M. de Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Jan De Laet
- Meise Botanic Garden, Nieuwelaan 38, Meise, Belgium
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Pol D, Baiano MA, Černý D, Novas FE, Cerda IA, Pittman M. A new abelisaurid dinosaur from the end Cretaceous of Patagonia and evolutionary rates among the Ceratosauria. Cladistics 2024; 40:307-356. [PMID: 38771085 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Gondwanan dinosaur faunae during the 20 Myr preceding the Cretaceous-Palaeogene (K/Pg) extinction included several lineages that were absent or poorly represented in Laurasian landmasses. Among these, the South American fossil record contains diverse abelisaurids, arguably the most successful groups of carnivorous dinosaurs from Gondwana in the Cretaceous, reaching their highest diversity towards the end of this period. Here we describe Koleken inakayali gen. et sp. n., a new abelisaurid from the La Colonia Formation (Maastrichtian, Upper Cretaceous) of Patagonia. Koleken inakayali is known from several skull bones, an almost complete dorsal series, complete sacrum, several caudal vertebrae, pelvic girdle and almost complete hind limbs. The new abelisaurid shows a unique set of features in the skull and several anatomical differences from Carnotaurus sastrei (the only other abelisaurid known from the La Colonia Formation). Koleken inakayali is retrieved as a brachyrostran abelisaurid, clustered with other South American abelisaurids from the latest Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian), such as Aucasaurus, Niebla and Carnotaurus. Leveraging our phylogeny estimates, we explore rates of morphological evolution across ceratosaurian lineages, finding them to be particularly high for elaphrosaurine noasaurids and around the base of Abelisauridae, before the Early Cretaceous radiation of the latter clade. The Noasauridae and their sister clade show contrasting patterns of morphological evolution, with noasaurids undergoing an early phase of accelerated evolution of the axial and hind limb skeleton in the Jurassic, and the abelisaurids exhibiting sustained high rates of cranial evolution during the Early Cretaceous. These results provide much needed context for the evolutionary dynamics of ceratosaurian theropods, contributing to broader understanding of macroevolutionary patterns across dinosaurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Pol
- Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Mattia Antonio Baiano
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Área Laboratorio e Investigación, Museo Municipal Ernesto Bachmann, Villa El Chocón, Neuquén, Argentina
- Universidad Nacional de Río Negro (UNRN), General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - David Černý
- Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Fernando E Novas
- Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ignacio A Cerda
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Universidad Nacional de Río Negro (UNRN), General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina
- Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología (IIPG), General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina
- Museo Provincial Carlos Ameghino, Cipolletti, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - Michael Pittman
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China
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Liu D, Cui J, Liu Y, Niu M, Wang F, Zhao Q, Cai B, Zhang H, Wei J. Ultraconserved elements from transcriptome and genome data provide insight into the phylogenomics of Sternorrhyncha (Insecta: Hemiptera). Cladistics 2024. [PMID: 38808591 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2024] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Sternorrhyncha, one of the four major suborders of Hemiptera, is a phytophagous taxon inclusive of nearly 18 000 described species. The phylogenetic relationships within the taxon and the earliest-branching lineage of its infraorders remain incompletely understood. This study attempted to illuminate the phylogenetic relationships within Sternorrhyncha through the use of maximum likelihood, Bayesian inference and maximum parsimony analyses, employing ultraconserved element (UCE) data from 39 genomic and 62 transcriptomic datasets and thereby representing most families within the taxon. The probe set Hemiptera 2.7Kv1 was used to recover a total of 2731 UCE loci: from 547 to 1699 (with an average of 1084) across all genomic datasets and from 108 to 849 (with an average of 329) across all transcriptomic datasets. All three types of phylogenetic analyses employed in this study produced robust statistical support for Sternorrhyncha being a monophyletic group. The different methods of phylogenetic analysis produced inconsistent descriptions of topological structure at the infraorder level: while maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses produced strong statistical evidence (100%) indicating the clade Psylloidea + Aleyrodoidea to be a sister of the clade Aphidoidea (Aphidomorpha) + Coccoidea (Coccomorpha), the maximum parsimony analysis failed to recover a similar result. Our results also provide detail on the phylogenetic relationships within each infraorder. This study presents the first use of UCE data to investigate the phylogeny of Sternorrhyncha. It also shows the viability of amalgamating genomic and transcriptomic data in studies of phylogenetic relationships, potentially highlighting a resource-efficient approach for future inquiries into diverse taxa through the integration of varied data sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dajun Liu
- College of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030801, China
- Department of Biology, Xinzhou Normal University, Xinzhou, Shanxi, 034000, China
| | - Jinyu Cui
- College of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030801, China
| | - Yubo Liu
- College of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030801, China
| | - Minmin Niu
- College of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030801, China
| | - Fang Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Environment, Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050024, China
| | - Qing Zhao
- College of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030801, China
| | - Bo Cai
- Post-Entry Quarantine Station for Tropical Plant, Haikou Customs District, No. 9 West Haixiu Road, Haikou, 570311, China
| | - Hufang Zhang
- College of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030801, China
- Department of Biology, Xinzhou Normal University, Xinzhou, Shanxi, 034000, China
| | - Jiufeng Wei
- College of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong, Shanxi, 030801, China
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12
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Roestel JA, Wiersema JH, Jansen RK, Borsch T, Gruenstaeudl M. On the importance of sequence alignment inspections in plastid phylogenomics - an example from revisiting the relationships of the water-lilies. Cladistics 2024. [PMID: 38761095 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2024] [Revised: 04/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024] Open
Abstract
The water-lily clade represents the second earliest-diverging branch of angiosperms. Most of its species belong to Nymphaeaceae, of which the "core Nymphaeaceae"-comprising the genera Euryale, Nymphaea and Victoria-is the most diverse clade. Despite previous molecular phylogenetic studies on the core Nymphaeaceae, various aspects of their evolutionary relationships have remained unresolved. The length-variable introns and intergenic spacers are known to contain most of the sequence variability within the water-lily plastomes. Despite the challenges with multiple sequence alignment, any new molecular phylogenetic investigation on the core Nymphaeaceae should focus on these noncoding plastome regions. For example, a new plastid phylogenomic study on the core Nymphaeaceae should generate DNA sequence alignments of all plastid introns and intergenic spacers based on the principle of conserved sequence motifs. In this investigation, we revisit the phylogenetic history of the core Nymphaeaceae by employing such an approach. Specifically, we use a plastid phylogenomic analysis strategy in which all coding and noncoding partitions are separated and then undergo software-driven DNA sequence alignment, followed by a motif-based alignment inspection and adjustment. This approach allows us to increase the reliability of the character base compared to the default practice of aligning complete plastomes through software algorithms alone. Our approach produces significantly different phylogenetic tree reconstructions for several of the plastome regions under study. The results of these reconstructions underscore that Nymphaea is paraphyletic in its current circumscription, that each of the five subgenera of Nymphaea is monophyletic, and that the subgenus Nymphaea is sister to all other subgenera of Nymphaea. Our results also clarify many evolutionary relationships within the Nymphaea subgenera Brachyceras, Hydrocallis and Nymphaea. In closing, we discuss whether the phylogenetic reconstructions obtained through our motif-based alignment adjustments are in line with morphological evidence on water-lily evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica A Roestel
- Institut für Biologie, Systematische Botanik und Pflanzengeographie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, 14195, Germany
| | - John H Wiersema
- Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History - Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 37012, USA
| | - Robert K Jansen
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Thomas Borsch
- Institut für Biologie, Systematische Botanik und Pflanzengeographie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, 14195, Germany
- Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Gruenstaeudl
- Institut für Biologie, Systematische Botanik und Pflanzengeographie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, 14195, Germany
- Department of Biological Sciences, Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS, 67601, USA
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13
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Vullo R, Villalobos-Segura E, Amadori M, Kriwet J, Frey E, González González MA, Padilla Gutiérrez JM, Ifrim C, Stinnesbeck ES, Stinnesbeck W. Exceptionally preserved shark fossils from Mexico elucidate the long-standing enigma of the Cretaceous elasmobranch Ptychodus. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240262. [PMID: 38654646 PMCID: PMC11040243 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0262] [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: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
The fossil fish Ptychodus Agassiz, 1834, characterized by a highly distinctive grinding dentition and an estimated gigantic body size (up to around 10 m), has remained one of the most enigmatic extinct elasmobranchs (i.e. sharks, skates and rays) for nearly two centuries. This widespread Cretaceous taxon is common in Albian to Campanian deposits from almost all continents. However, specimens mostly consist of isolated teeth or more or less complete dentitions, whereas cranial and post-cranial skeletal elements are very rare. Here we describe newly discovered material from the early Late Cretaceous of Mexico, including complete articulated specimens with preserved body outline, which reveals crucial information on the anatomy and systematic position of Ptychodus. Our phylogenetic and ecomorphological analyses indicate that ptychodontids were high-speed (tachypelagic) durophagous lamniforms (mackerel sharks), which occupied a specialized predatory niche previously unknown in fossil and extant elasmobranchs. Our results support the view that lamniforms were ecomorphologically highly diverse and represented the dominant group of sharks in Cretaceous marine ecosystems. Ptychodus may have fed predominantly on nektonic hard-shelled prey items such as ammonites and sea turtles rather than on benthic invertebrates, and its extinction during the Campanian, well before the end-Cretaceous crisis, might have been related to competition with emerging blunt-toothed globidensine and prognathodontine mosasaurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romain Vullo
- Univ Rennes, CNRS, Géosciences Rennes, UMR 6118, Rennes, France
| | - Eduardo Villalobos-Segura
- Department of Palaeontology, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Manuel Amadori
- Department of Palaeontology, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jürgen Kriwet
- Department of Palaeontology, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Vienna Doctoral School of Ecology and Evolution, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | | | | | - Christina Ifrim
- Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns, Jura-Museum, Willibaldsburg, Eichstätt, Germany
| | - Eva S. Stinnesbeck
- Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Stinnesbeck
- Institute für Geowissenschaften, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität, Heidelberg, Germany
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14
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Datta D, Bajpai S. Largest known madtsoiid snake from warm Eocene period of India suggests intercontinental Gondwana dispersal. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8054. [PMID: 38637509 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58377-0] [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: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Here we report the discovery of fossils representing partial vertebral column of a giant madtsoiid snake from an early Middle Eocene (Lutetian, ~ 47 Ma) lignite-bearing succession in Kutch, western India. The estimated body length of ~ 11-15 m makes this new taxon (Vasuki indicus gen et sp. nov.) the largest known madtsoiid snake, which thrived during a warm geological interval with average temperatures estimated at ~ 28 °C. Phylogenetically, Vasuki forms a distinct clade with the Indian Late Cretaceous taxon Madtsoia pisdurensis and the North African Late Eocene Gigantophis garstini. Biogeographic considerations, seen in conjunction with its inter-relationship with other Indian and North African madtsoiids, suggest that Vasuki represents a relic lineage that originated in India. Subsequent India-Asia collision at ~ 50 Ma led to intercontinental dispersal of this lineage from the subcontinent into North Africa through southern Eurasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debajit Datta
- Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India.
| | - Sunil Bajpai
- Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India.
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15
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Beeston SL, Poropat SF, Mannion PD, Pentland AH, Enchelmaier MJ, Sloan T, Elliott DA. Reappraisal of sauropod dinosaur diversity in the Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia, through 3D digitisation and description of new specimens. PeerJ 2024; 12:e17180. [PMID: 38618562 PMCID: PMC11011616 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Skeletal remains of sauropod dinosaurs have been known from Australia for over 100 years. Unfortunately, the classification of the majority of these specimens to species level has historically been impeded by their incompleteness. This has begun to change in the last 15 years, primarily through the discovery and description of several partial skeletons from the Cenomanian-lower Turonian (lower Upper Cretaceous) Winton Formation in central Queensland, with four species erected to date: Australotitan cooperensis, Diamantinasaurus matildae, Savannasaurus elliottorum, and Wintonotitan wattsi. The first three of these appear to form a clade (Diamantinasauria) of early diverging titanosaurs (or close relatives of titanosaurs), whereas Wintonotitan wattsi is typically recovered as a distantly related non-titanosaurian somphospondylan. Through the use of 3D scanning, we digitised numerous specimens of Winton Formation sauropods, facilitating enhanced comparison between type and referred specimens, and heretofore undescribed specimens. We present new anatomical information on the holotype specimen of Diamantinasaurus matildae, and describe new remains pertaining to twelve sauropod individuals. Firsthand observations and digital analysis enabled previously proposed autapomorphic features of all four named Winton Formation sauropod species to be identified in the newly described specimens, with some specimens exhibiting putative autapomorphies of more than one species, prompting a reassessment of their taxonomic validity. Supported by a specimen-level phylogenetic analysis, we suggest that Australotitan cooperensis is probably a junior synonym of Diamantinasaurus matildae, but conservatively regard it herein as an indeterminate diamantinasaurian, meaning that the Winton Formation sauropod fauna now comprises three (rather than four) valid diamantinasaurian species: Diamantinasaurus matildae, Savannasaurus elliottorum, and Wintonotitan wattsi, with the latter robustly supported as a member of the clade for the first time. We refer some of the newly described specimens to these three species and provide revised diagnoses, with some previously proposed autapomorphies now regarded as diamantinasaurian synapomorphies. Our newly presented anatomical data and critical reappraisal of the Winton Formation sauropods facilitates a more comprehensive understanding of the mid-Cretaceous sauropod palaeobiota of central Queensland.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha L. Beeston
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, University of London, London, United Kingdom
- Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Winton, Queensland, Australia
| | - Stephen F. Poropat
- Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, School of Earth and Planetary Science, Curtin University of Technology, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Philip D. Mannion
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Adele H. Pentland
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Winton, Queensland, Australia
- Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, School of Earth and Planetary Science, Curtin University of Technology, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | | | - Trish Sloan
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Winton, Queensland, Australia
| | - David A. Elliott
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Winton, Queensland, Australia
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16
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Martinelli AG, Ezcurra MD, Fiorelli LE, Escobar J, Hechenleitner EM, von Baczko MB, Taborda JRA, Desojo JB. A new early-diverging probainognathian cynodont and a revision of the occurrence of cf. Aleodon from the Chañares Formation, northwestern Argentina: New clues on the faunistic composition of the latest Middle-?earliest Late Triassic Tarjadia Assemblage Zone. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024; 307:818-850. [PMID: 38282519 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/30/2024]
Abstract
The Chañares Formation (Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin) is worldwide known by its exquisitely preserved fossil record of latest Middle-to-early Late Triassic tetrapods, including erpetosuchids, "rauisuchians," proterochampsids, gracilisuchids, dinosauromorphs, pterosauromorphs, kannemeyeriiform dicynodonts, and traversodontid, chiniquodontid and probainognathid cynodonts, coming from the Tarjadia (bottom) and Massetognathus-Chanaresuchus (top) Assemblage Zones of its lower member. Regarding cynodonts, most of its profuse knowledge comes from the traditional layers discovered by Alfred Romer and his team in the 1960s that are now enclosed in the Massetognathus-Chanaresuchus Assemblage Zone (AZ). In this contribution we focus our study on the probainognathian cynodonts discovered in levels of the Tarjadia Assemblage Zone. We describe a new chiniquodontid cynodont with transversely broad postcanine teeth (Riojanodon nenoi gen. et sp. nov.) which is related to the genus Aleodon. In addition, the specimen CRILAR-Pv 567 previously referred to cf. Aleodon is here described, compared, and included in a phylogenetic analysis. It is considered as an indeterminate Aleodontinae nov., a clade here proposed to included chiniquodontids with transversely broad upper and lower postcanines, by having a cuspidated sectorial labial margin and a lingual platform that is twice broader than a lingual cingulum. Cromptodon mamiferoides, from the Cerro de Las Cabras Formation (Cuyo Basin), was also included in the phylogenetic analysis and recovered as an Aleodontinae. The new cynodont and the record of Aleodontinae indet. reinforce the faunal differentiation between the Tarjadia and Massetognathus-Chanaresuchus Assemblage Zones, in the lower member of the Chañares Formation, and inform on the diverse chiniquodontid clade with both sectorial and transversely broad postcanine teeth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agustín G Martinelli
- Sección Paleontología de Vertebrados, CONICET-Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia", Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Martín D Ezcurra
- Sección Paleontología de Vertebrados, CONICET-Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia", Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lucas E Fiorelli
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja (Prov. de La Rioja-UNLaR-SEGEMAR-UNCa-CONICET), La Rioja, Argentina
| | - Juan Escobar
- Sección Paleontología de Vertebrados, CONICET-Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia", Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - E Martín Hechenleitner
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja (Prov. de La Rioja-UNLaR-SEGEMAR-UNCa-CONICET), La Rioja, Argentina
| | - M Belén von Baczko
- Sección Paleontología de Vertebrados, CONICET-Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia", Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Jeremías R A Taborda
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- CICTERRA, Ciudad Universitaria, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Julia B Desojo
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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17
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Paes-Neto VD, Lacerda MB, Ezcurra MD, Raugust T, Trotteyn MJ, Soares MB, Schultz CL, Pretto FA, Francischini H, Martinelli AG. New rhadinosuchine proterochampsids from the late Middle-early Late Triassic of southern Brazil enhance the diversity of archosauriforms. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024; 307:851-889. [PMID: 37589539 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
Proterochampsidae is a clade of non-archosaurian archosauriforms restricted to the Middle to the Late Triassic of the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin of Argentina and the Santa Maria Supersequence of Brazil. A reappraisal of proterochampsid specimens from the Brazilian Dinodontosaurus Assemblage Zone (AZ) of the Pinheiros-Chiniquá Sequence (late Ladinian-early Carnian) is presented here. One of the specimens was preliminary assigned to Chanaresuchus sp., whose type species comes from the Massetognathus-Chanaresuchus AZ of the Chañares Formation of Argentina. However, our revision indicates that it differs from Chanaresuchus, being more closely related to the middle-late Carnian Rhadinosuchus gracilis. We therefore propose the new taxon, Pinheirochampsa rodriguesi, to reallocate this specimen. Additionally, we present a revision of other putative Chanaresuchus occurrences in Brazil, including the only known specimen described for the Santacruzodon AZ (Santa Cruz do Sul Sequence; early Carnian), also proposing it as a new taxon: Kuruxuchampsa dornellesi. Both new species are characterized, among other features, by transverse expansion of the anterior end of the rostrum, similar to the condition present in Rhadinosuchus, but absent in Chanaresuchus, Gualosuchus, Pseudochampsa, and non-rhadinosuchine proterochampsids. These two new species expand the growing knowledge of the non-archosaurian archosauriform diversity during the Middle-Late Triassic in South America and enhance faunal and chronological comparisons between approximately coeval geological units between Argentina and Brazil.
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Affiliation(s)
- Voltaire D Paes-Neto
- Laboratório de Paleobiologia, Unipampa Campus São Gabriel, São Gabriel, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Marcel B Lacerda
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Martín D Ezcurra
- Sección Paleontología de Vertebrados, CONICET-Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia", Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Tiago Raugust
- Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Catarinense (IFC), Concórdia, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - María J Trotteyn
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales UNSJ - CONICET, San Juan, Argentina
| | - Marina B Soares
- Departamento de Geologia e Paleontologia, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Cesar L Schultz
- Departamento de Paleontologia e Estratigrafia, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Flávio A Pretto
- Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, São João do Polêsine, Brazil
| | - Heitor Francischini
- Departamento de Paleontologia e Estratigrafia, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Agustín G Martinelli
- Sección Paleontología de Vertebrados, CONICET-Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia", Buenos Aires, Argentina
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18
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Moro D, Damke LVS, Müller RT, Kerber L, Pretto FA. An unusually robust specimen attributed to Buriolestes schultzi (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) from the Late Triassic of southern Brazil. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024; 307:1025-1059. [PMID: 37725325 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25319] [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: 07/01/2023] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
Buriolestes schultzi is a small sauropodomorph dinosaur from Carnian beds (ca., 233 Ma) of southern Brazil. It is one of the earliest members of that lineage and is a key taxon to investigate the initial evolution of Sauropodomorpha. Here, we attribute a new specimen to B. schultzi from Late Triassic of southern Brazil, which represents the first occurrence of the taxon outside the type locality. The new specimen comprises a disarticulated and partial skeleton, including cranial and postcranial elements. It is tentatively regarded as an additional specimen of B. schultzi according to a unique combination of traits (including autapomorphies). Conversely, the new specimen is stouter than the other specimens of B. schultzi, as shown by femoral Robustness Index. Based on femoral circumference, the estimated body mass of the new specimen is approximately 15 kg, which is far higher than the previous estimations for other specimens of B. schultzi (i.e., approximately 7 kg). In fact, the new specimen and some specimens of Eoraptor lunensis and Saturnalia tupiniquim were found to be significantly stouter than coeval sauropodomorphs. Therefore, instead of all being constructed as gracile, the earliest sauropodomorphs experienced an unappreciated intraspecific variation in robustness. This is interesting because more precise data on species body mass are crucial in order to better understand the complex terrestrial ecosystems in which dinosaurs originated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Débora Moro
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, São João do Polêsine, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Lísie Vitória Soares Damke
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, São João do Polêsine, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo Temp Müller
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, São João do Polêsine, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Leonardo Kerber
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, São João do Polêsine, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Flávio Augusto Pretto
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, São João do Polêsine, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
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19
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Butler RJ, Meade LE, Cleary TJ, McWhirter KT, Brown EE, Kemp TS, Benito J, Fraser NC. Hwiccewyrm trispiculum gen. et sp. nov., a new leptopleuronine procolophonid from the Late Triassic of southwest England. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024; 307:1390-1420. [PMID: 37735997 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
The fissure fill localities of southwest England and South Wales are well-known for preserving rich assemblages of predominantly small-bodied Late Triassic to Early Jurassic tetrapods, but many aspects of these assemblages remain contentious. The age of the Late Triassic fissures is disputed, with some lines of argument suggesting a latest Triassic (Rhaetian) age, whereas other evidence suggests they may be as old as Carnian. The fissures have been hypothesized by some workers to have formed on an archipelago, with island effects invoked to explain aspects of the assemblages such as the abundance of small-bodied species. Procolophonids were a successful group of Triassic parareptiles, best known from Early to early Late Triassic assemblages, but have only recently been described from one of the fissure fill sites (Ruthin) based upon fragmentary remains. Here, we describe new procolophonid specimens from another fissure (Cromhall) that represent at least six individuals of different sizes, with much of the skeleton represented including well-preserved skull material. The Cromhall procolophonid shows strong similarities to Late Triassic procolophonids from Scotland, Brazil and North America, but both autapomorphies and a unique character combination demonstrate that it represents a new species, which we name as Hwiccewyrm trispiculum gen. et sp. nov. Phylogenetic analysis places Hwiccewyrm in a derived clade within Leptopleuroninae, together with Leptopleuron, Hypsognathus, and Soturnia. The largest specimens of Hwiccewyrm demonstrate a body size that is similar to Leptopleuron and Hypsognathus, supporting other recent work that has questioned the insular dwarfism hypothesis for the fissure fill assemblages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Butler
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Luke E Meade
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Terri J Cleary
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Kai T McWhirter
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Emily E Brown
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Fossil Reptiles, Amphibians and Birds Section, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Tom S Kemp
- St John's College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Juan Benito
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Nicholas C Fraser
- Department of Natural Sciences, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland
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20
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Sengupta S, Ezcurra MD, Bandyopadhyay S. The redescription of Malerisaurus robinsonae (Archosauromorpha: Allokotosauria) from the Upper Triassic lower Maleri Formation, Pranhita-Godavari Basin, India. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024; 307:1315-1365. [PMID: 38278769 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/28/2024]
Abstract
Allokotosauria, a clade of non-archosauriform archosauromorphs with a broad diversity of body plans, plays a crucial role in better understanding the evolutionary history of early diverging stem-archosaurs. Here we provide a detailed redescription of Malerisaurus robinsonae, a malerisaurine allokotosaur from the middle Carnian-lowermost Norian lower Maleri Formation, Pranhita-Godavari Basin, India. The new anatomical information available from recently discovered and well-preserved skeletons of various allokotosaurs, such as Azendohsaurus madagaskarensis, Shringasaurus indicus, Puercosuchus traverorum, and Malerisaurus-like taxa, and their comparison with Malerisaurus robinsonae enriches our understanding of the anatomy of this species. To reassess the phylogenetic relationships of Malerisaurus robinsonae, we revised its scorings and included eight additional allokotosaurian species to the already most comprehensive phylogenetic dataset focused on Permo-Triassic archosauromorphs. We modified 70 scorings for Malerisaurus robinsonae and the new analysis recovered this species at the base of Malerisaurinae and this group as the earliest branch of Azendohsauridae. Pamelaria dolichotrachela is found as the earliest diverging non-malerisaurine azendohsaurid and sister taxon to the Shringasaurus indicus + Azendohsaurus spp. clade. Trilophosaurid interrelationships are well resolved, with Teraterpeton hrynewichorum, Coelodontognathus ricovi, and Rutiotomodon tytthos as their successive earliest-branching species. The position of Anisodontosaurus greeri as a sister taxon to Variodens inopinatus bolsters long ghost lineages in the Late Triassic trilophosaurid record. A disparity analysis of tooth crown morphology shows that Allokotosauria is the most disparate Permo-Triassic archosauromorph clade, exploring the almost complete range of basic crown morphologies. Trilophosaurids occupy an area of the dental morphospace unique among archosauromorphs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saradee Sengupta
- Department of Geology, Durgapur Government College, Durgapur, India
| | - Martín D Ezcurra
- Sección Paleontología de Vertebrados, CONICET-Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia", Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
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21
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Mueller BD, Small BJ, Jenkins X, Huttenlocker AK, Chatterjee S. Cranial anatomy of Libognathus sheddi Small, 1997 (Parareptilia, Procolophonidae) from the Upper Triassic Dockum Group of West Texas, USA. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024; 307:1421-1441. [PMID: 38071453 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2024]
Abstract
Libognathus sheddi, a leptopleuronine procolophonid from the Upper Triassic Cooper Canyon Formation, Dockum Group, West Texas, was based on an isolated left dentary and partial coronoid. New material referable to Libognathus sheddi, from the Cooper Canyon Formation, provides new information on the cranial anatomy. This new cranial material includes the antorbital portion of a skull, a left maxilla and premaxilla, quadratojugals, and dentaries, including intact tooth rows in the upper and lower jaws. Libognathus shows autapomorphies including; dentary deep with ventral margin oblique to tooth row immediately from the symphysis at ≥23°; anterior projecting coronoid contacting the lingual surface of the dentary underlying the last two dentary teeth; reduced contact between the lacrimal and the nasal; suborbital foramen formed by the maxilla and ectopterygoid, excluding the palatine; a posterior supralabial foramen shared by the maxilla and jugal; a Y-shaped antorbital pillar formed by the palatine, and massive orbitonasale and facial foramina (shared with unnamed southwest USA leptopleuronines). Phylogenetic analysis indicates that Libognathus is a highly derived leptopleuronine procolophonid, closely related to Hypsognathus fenneri and other southwest USA Revueltian leptopleuronines, which fall out as sister taxa to Hypsognathus, a relationship supported by a maxillary dentition restricted anterior to the orbital margin, a possibly synapomorphic orbitonasale septum in the form of an "antorbital pillar" created by the palatine, an anteroventral process of the jugal, and the presence of a small diastema between the first dentary tooth and the more posterior dentition. Libognathus exhibits a possible ankylosed protothecodont tooth implantation with frequent replacement, differing from some other proposed procolophonid implantation and replacement models. Chinle Formation and Dockum Group leptopleuronines are restricted to the Revueltian teilzone/holochronozone, making them possible Revueltian index taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Xavier Jenkins
- Department of Biological Sciences, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID, USA
| | - Adam K Huttenlocker
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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22
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Ezcurra MD, Müller RT, Novas FE, Chatterjee S. Osteology of the sauropodomorph dinosaur Jaklapallisaurus asymmetricus from the Late Triassic of central India. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024; 307:1093-1112. [PMID: 38088472 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2024]
Abstract
The Gondwana formations exposed in the Pranhita-Godavari Valley of central India include Middle Triassic to Lower Jurassic continental deposits that provide essential information about the tetrapod assemblages of that time, documenting some of the oldest known dinosaurs and the first faunas numerically dominated by this group. The Upper Maleri Formation of the Pranhita-Godavari Basin preserves an early-middle Norian dinosaur assemblage that provides information about the early evolutionary history of this group in central-south Gondwana. This assemblage comprises sauropodomorph dinosaurs and an herrerasaurian, including two nominal species. Here, we describe in detail the anatomy of one of those early dinosaurs, the bagualosaurian sauropodomorph Jaklapallisaurus asymmetricus. The new anatomical information is used to investigate the position of the species in an updated quantitative phylogenetic analysis focused on early sauropodomorphs. The analysis recovered Jaklapallisaurus asymmetricus as a member of Unaysauridae, at the base of Plateosauria, together with Macrocollum itaquii and Unaysaurus tolentinoi from the early Norian of southern Brazil. This phylogenetic result indicates that the dispersal of early plateosaurian sauropodomorphs between the Southern Hemisphere and what nowadays is Europe would have occurred shortly after Ischigualastian times because of the extension of their ghost lineage. Thus, the presence of early plateosaurians in the early Norian of South America and India reduces a previously inferred diachrony between the biogeographic dispersals of theropods and sauropodomorphs during post-Ischigualastian times.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martín D Ezcurra
- Sección Paleontología de Vertebrados, CONICET-Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia", Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Rodrigo T Müller
- Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, São João do Polêsine, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil
| | - Fernando E Novas
- Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada y Evolución de los Vertebrados, CONICET-Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia", Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sankar Chatterjee
- Department of Geosciences, Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA
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Mastrantonio BM, Lacerda MB, de Farias BDM, Pretto FA, Rezende LDO, Desojo JB, Schultz CL. Postcranial anatomy of Prestosuchus chiniquensis (Archosauria: Loricata) from the Triassic of Brazil. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024; 307:925-956. [PMID: 38299218 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2023] [Revised: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
Prestosuchus chiniquensis is the best represented pseudosuchian archosaur from the Pinheiros-Chiniquá Sequence, Middle-Late Triassic (Ladinian/Carnian) of the Santa Maria Supersequence, Southern Brazil. Several incomplete specimens attributed to this species have been described, but the morphology of the postcranial skeleton of P. chiniquensis is poorly known. In this contribution we present the postcranial material of the UFRGS-PV-0629-T specimen, concluding its description, as its skull and endocast have already been described. Additionally, histological data provided new information on the poorly known ontogenetic series of P. chiniquensis, and on its growth patterns suggesting a longer period of slow growth when compared to other basal Loricata species. A phylogenetic analysis placed UFRGS-PV-0629-T in a group composed by the lectotype, paralectotype, and other described P. chiniquensis specimens, further corroborating our taxonomic hypothesis, that specimens of basal Loricata collected in Brazil are closely related to each other. Due to the association of characters found in the phylogenetic analysis, the specimen UFRGS-PV-0629-T is attributed as the most complete material ever found for P. chiniquensis. As such, it is clear that the material presented here provides important new information on P. chiniquensis. Based on the results presented here, we revised the diagnosis for P. chiniquensis. However, it also evidences the need for new discoveries and studies of other specimens seeking to understand this and other closely related species, which were important components of worldwide trophic webs of the Triassic biotas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bianca Martins Mastrantonio
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geociências, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Marcel Baêta Lacerda
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Brodsky Dantas Macedo de Farias
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geociências, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Flávio Augusto Pretto
- Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia (CAPPA), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal (PPGBA), Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), São João do Polêsine, Brazil
| | - Letícia de Oliveira Rezende
- Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia (CAPPA), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal (PPGBA), Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), São João do Polêsine, Brazil
| | - Julia Brenda Desojo
- CONICET-Division Paleontologia Vertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina
| | - Cesar Leandro Schultz
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geociências, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
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Assad EE, Abdala CS, Montero R. The skull of Liolaemus huayra compared to other species of Liolaemus and Phymaturus (Squamata, Liolaemidae). Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024. [PMID: 38504658 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Despite the extensive study of various aspects of the genus Liolaemus, there remains a scarcity of information regarding the osteology of species. In the last two decades, over 100 species have been described within the genus, but still less than 10% of the Liolaemus species includes any osteological data. In this study, we provide a description of the skull of Liolaemus huayra, a taxon closely related to the L. dorbignyi clade (a subset of the L. montanus group). The species was originally described in 2008 based on a few specimens from the Sierra de Quilmes, Tucumán. By obtaining new specimens from a nearby locality (La Ovejería, Catamarca), we were able to prepare the skulls of two males and two females specimens. Despite the limited sample size, we observed intra-specific variability in characters such as postorbital and nasal shape, as well as mandibular curvature. We also document some inter-specific differences based on the scarce osteological information available from other species within the genus. This description constitutes a significant contribution to the osteology of the Liolaemidae clade. We emphasize the importance of detailed descriptions that provide morphological characters suitable for inclusion in comprehensive phylogenetic analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esteban Eduardo Assad
- Cátedra Vertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Cristian Simón Abdala
- Cátedra Biología de la Conservación, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
- Unidad Ejecutora Lillo (Fundación Miguel Lillo - Conicet), San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Ricardo Montero
- Cátedra Vertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
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25
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Narváez I, de Celis A, Escaso F, Martín de Jesús S, Pérez-García A, Ortega F. A new Crocodyloidea from the middle Eocene of Zamora (Duero Basin, Spain). Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024. [PMID: 38444286 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25422] [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: 12/23/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
The eusuchian crocodyliforms recorded in the Eocene levels of the Spanish Duero Basin belong to three lineages: Planocraniidae, with the species Duerosuchus piscator; Alligatoroidea, represented by several specimens of the genus Diplocynodon; and Crocodyloidea, which includes several specimens traditionally attributed to Asiatosuchus. The genus Asiatosuchus, established in 1940 based on a middle Eocene species from Mongolia, has subsequently served as a wastebasket taxon for Paleogene remains belonging to several species, not only from Asia but also belonging to the European and North American records. Many of these species are known by highly fragmentary remains, sharing the presence of characters such as a flat and triangular skull, and long symphyses in the lower jaw, recognized as characteristic for the crocodyloids. In addition to isolated cranial remains, among the material traditionally attributed to Asiatosuchus at the Duero Basin stands out a nearly complete skull and a left mandible, from the middle Eocene area of Casaseca de Campeán (Zamora Province). The present study analyses in detail these specimens, previously reported during the 1980s, but analyzed in a very preliminary way. They are included for the first time in a phylogenetic analysis to establish the systematic position of this Spanish form. The results confirm that it corresponds to a new species of basal crocodyloid, defined here as Asiatosuchus oenotriensis sp. nov.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iván Narváez
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Facultad de Ciencias, UNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ane de Celis
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Facultad de Ciencias, UNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Fernando Escaso
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Facultad de Ciencias, UNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Santiago Martín de Jesús
- Colección de Vertebrados Fósiles de la Cuenca del Duero (Sala de las Tortugas), Departamento de Geología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Adán Pérez-García
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Facultad de Ciencias, UNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Ortega
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Facultad de Ciencias, UNED, Madrid, Spain
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Li X, Breinholt JW, Martinez JI, Keegan K, Ellis EA, Homziak NT, Zwick A, Storer CG, McKenna D, Kawahara AY. Large-scale genomic data reveal the phylogeny and evolution of owlet moths (Noctuoidea). Cladistics 2024; 40:21-33. [PMID: 37787424 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12559] [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: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The owlet moths (Noctuoidea; ~43-45K described species) are one of the most ecologically diverse and speciose superfamilies of animals. Moreover, they comprise some of the world's most notorious pests of agriculture and forestry. Despite their contributions to terrestrial biodiversity and impacts on ecosystems and economies, the evolutionary history of Noctuoidea remains unclear because the superfamily lacks a statistically robust phylogenetic and temporal framework. We reconstructed the phylogeny of Noctuoidea using data from 1234 genes (946.4 kb nucleotides) obtained from the genome and transcriptome sequences of 76 species. The relationships among the six families of Noctuoidea were well resolved and consistently recovered based on both concatenation and gene coalescence approaches, supporting the following relationships: Oenosandridae + (Notodontidae + (Erebidae + (Nolidae + (Euteliidae + Noctuidae)))). A Yule tree prior with three unlinked molecular clocks was identified as the preferred BEAST analysis using marginal-likelihood estimations. The crown age of Noctuoidea was estimated at 74.5 Ma, with most families originating before the end of the Paleogene (23 Ma). Our study provides the first statistically robust phylogenetic and temporal framework for Noctuoidea, including all families of owlet moths, based on large-scale genomic data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuankun Li
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
- McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA
- Center for Biodiversity Research, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA
| | - Jesse W Breinholt
- McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
- Precision Genomics, Intermountain Healthcare, St George, UT, 84790, USA
| | - Jose I Martinez
- McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
- Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32608, USA
| | - Kevin Keegan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06268, USA
- Section of Invertebrate Zoology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 4400 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213-4080, USA
| | - Emily A Ellis
- McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Nicholas T Homziak
- McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Andreas Zwick
- Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO National Research Collections Australia, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Caroline G Storer
- McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Duane McKenna
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA
- Center for Biodiversity Research, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA
| | - Akito Y Kawahara
- McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
- Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32608, USA
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Motyka M, Kusy D, Biffi G, Geiser M, Kazantsev SV, Bilkova R, Jahodarova E, Vogler AP, Bocak L. Untangling the evolution of soldier beetles (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) and the evaluation of the morphological phylogenetic signal in a soft-bodied elateroid lineage. Cladistics 2023; 39:548-570. [PMID: 37647219 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
This study addresses the long-standing uncertainty about the internal classification of soldier beetles (Elateroidea: Cantharidae). Four datasets were compiled and analysed: 66 genes for 14 terminals, 15 mtDNA genes for 79 terminals, one mtDNA and two rRNA genes for 217 terminals, and barcodes for 576 terminals. Based on congruent topologies, Chauliognathinae is proposed as a sister to the remaining Cantharidae, followed by the redefined Malthininae (including Tytthonyxini), the paraphyletic "dysmorphocerine" lineages (Dysmorphocerinae sensu stricto and Heteromastiginae subfam. nov.), and Silinae + Cantharinae as a terminal clade. The present phylogeny supersedes earlier morphology and short-fragment molecular hypotheses that have not converged on a consensus. Few morphological characters corroborate the DNA-based relationships (see the adults and larval keys). However, morphology-based hypotheses have relied on a few informative characters, and no evidence strongly rejects the preferred molecular topology. The interpretation of morphological characters and uncertain polarity resulting from the high phenotypic disparity of Elateroidea are discussed in detail. The dated phylogeny hypothesizes the earliest split within the Cantharidae in the Berriasian stage (Early Cretaceous, ~141 Myr) and the diversification of most extant subfamilies and tribes already in the Late Cretaceous. The most diverse subfamily, Cantharinae, represents a delayed radiation that started during the Eocene climatic optimum, 55.5 Myr. The late origin of Cantharinae questions the classification of Cretaceous Cantharidae as members of Cantharinae. Instead, the results suggest their deeper rooting after separating from dysmorphocerine lineages and before the node between Cantharinae and Silinae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michal Motyka
- Laboratory of Biodiversity and Molecular Evolution, Czech Advanced Technology Research Institute, 779 00, Olomouc, Slechtitelu 27, Czech Republic
| | - Dominik Kusy
- Laboratory of Biodiversity and Molecular Evolution, Czech Advanced Technology Research Institute, 779 00, Olomouc, Slechtitelu 27, Czech Republic
| | - Gabriel Biffi
- Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, 04263-000, SP, São Paulo, Av. Nazaré, 481, Ipiranga, Brazil
| | - Michael Geiser
- Natural History Museum, SW6 7BD, London, Cromwell Road, UK
| | - Sergey V Kazantsev
- Insect Centre, 109651, Moscow, Donetskaya 13-326, Russia
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS, 119071, Moscow, 33 Leninsky Pr., Russia
| | - Renata Bilkova
- Laboratory of Biodiversity and Molecular Evolution, Czech Advanced Technology Research Institute, 779 00, Olomouc, Slechtitelu 27, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Jahodarova
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, Palacky University, 771 00, Olomouc, Purkrabska 2, Czech Republic
| | - Alfried P Vogler
- Natural History Museum, SW6 7BD, London, Cromwell Road, UK
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Ladislav Bocak
- Laboratory of Biodiversity and Molecular Evolution, Czech Advanced Technology Research Institute, 779 00, Olomouc, Slechtitelu 27, Czech Republic
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28
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Brazeau MD, Castiello M, El Fassi El Fehri A, Hamilton L, Ivanov AO, Johanson Z, Friedman M. Fossil evidence for a pharyngeal origin of the vertebrate pectoral girdle. Nature 2023; 623:550-554. [PMID: 37914937 PMCID: PMC10651482 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06702-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
The origin of vertebrate paired appendages is one of the most investigated and debated examples of evolutionary novelty1-7. Paired appendages are widely considered as key innovations that enabled new opportunities for controlled swimming and gill ventilation and were prerequisites for the eventual transition from water to land. The past 150 years of debate8-10 has been shaped by two contentious theories4,5: the ventrolateral fin-fold hypothesis9,10 and the archipterygium hypothesis8. The latter proposes that fins and girdles evolved from an ancestral gill arch. Although studies in animal development have revived interest in this idea11-13, it is apparently unsupported by fossil evidence. Here we present palaeontological support for a pharyngeal basis for the vertebrate shoulder girdle. We use computed tomography scanning to reveal details of the braincase of Kolymaspis sibirica14, an Early Devonian placoderm fish from Siberia, that suggests a pharyngeal component of the shoulder. We combine these findings with refreshed comparative anatomy of placoderms and jawless outgroups to place the origin of the shoulder girdle on the sixth branchial arch. These findings provide a novel framework for understanding the origin of the pectoral girdle. Our evidence clarifies the location of the presumptive head-trunk interface in jawless fishes and explains the constraint on branchial arch number in gnathostomes15. The results revive a key aspect of the archipterygium hypothesis and help reconcile it with the ventrolateral fin-fold model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin D Brazeau
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK.
- The Natural History Museum, London, UK.
| | - Marco Castiello
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- London Academy of Excellence, London, United Kingdom
| | - Amin El Fassi El Fehri
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Louis Hamilton
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Alexander O Ivanov
- Department of Sedimentary Geology, Institute of Earth Sciences, St Petersburg State University, St Petersburg, Russia
- Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia
| | | | - Matt Friedman
- The Natural History Museum, London, UK
- Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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29
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Sachs S, Madzia D, Thuy B, Kear BP. The rise of macropredatory pliosaurids near the Early-Middle Jurassic transition. Sci Rep 2023; 13:17558. [PMID: 37845269 PMCID: PMC10579310 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43015-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The emergence of gigantic pliosaurid plesiosaurs reshaped the trophic structure of Mesozoic marine ecosystems, and established an ~ 80 million-year (Ma) dynasty of macropredatory marine reptiles. However, the timescale of their 'defining' trait evolution is incompletely understood because the fossil record of gigantic pliosaurids is scarce prior to the late-Middle Jurassic (Callovian), ~ 165.3 Ma. Here, we pinpoint the appearance of large body size and robust dentitions to early-Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) pliosaurids from northeastern France and Switzerland. These specimens include a new genus that sheds light on the nascent diversification of macropredatory pliosaurids occurring shortly after the Early-Middle Jurassic transition, around ~ 171 Ma. Furthermore, our multivariate assessment of dental character states shows that the first gigantic pliosaurids occupied different morphospace from coeval large-bodied rhomaleosaurid plesiosaurs, which were dominant in the Early Jurassic but declined during the mid-Jurassic, possibly facilitating the radiation and subsequent ecomorph acme of pliosaurids. Finally, we posit that while the emergence of macropredatory pliosaurids was apparently coordinated with regional faunal turnover in the epeiric basins of Europe, it paralleled a globally protracted extinction of other higher trophic-level marine reptiles that was not completed until after the earliest-Late Jurassic, ~ 161.5 Ma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sven Sachs
- Abteilung Geowissenschaften, Naturkunde-Museum Bielefeld, Adenauerplatz 2, 33602, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Daniel Madzia
- Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00818, Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Ben Thuy
- Department of Palaeontology, Natural History Museum Luxembourg, 25, rue Münster, 2160, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
| | - Benjamin P Kear
- The Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 16, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden
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30
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Michat MC, Alarie Y, Balke M. Bunites distigma (Brull, 1837): discovery of the second- and third-instar larvae and phylogenetic relationships within the Colymbetinae (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae). Zootaxa 2023; 5353:551-566. [PMID: 38220663 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5353.6.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
The second- and third-instar larvae of the diving beetle Bunites distigma (Brull, 1837) are described and illustrated for the first time, including detailed morphometric and chaetotaxic analyses of selected structures, and their phylogenetic relationships within the Colymbetinae are re-evaluated. The results support previous hypotheses on the position of this genus based on first-instar characters, as Bunites Spangler, 1972 shares a common origin with Meladema Laporte, 1835, Hoperius Fall, 1927 and Neoscutopterus J. Balfour-Browne, 1943, and within this clade, it is sister to Meladema. Instars II and III of Bunites differ from other colymbetine genera by the presence of a basal suture on the urogomphi combined with the presence of posteroventral secondary setae on the protarsus. Some information on the habitat of the species is also provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariano C Michat
- University of Buenos Aires; Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences; Department of Biodiversity and Experimental Biology; Laboratory of Entomology; Buenos Aires; Argentina; CONICET-University of Buenos Aires; Institute of Biodiversity and Experimental and Applied Biology (IBBEA); Buenos Aires; Argentina.
| | - Yves Alarie
- School of Natural Sciences; Laurentian University; Ramsey Lake Road; Sudbury; Ontario; CANADA.
| | - Michael Balke
- SNSB-Bavarian State Collection of Zoology; Mnchhausenstrae 21; DE-81247 Munich; Germany. GeoBioCenter; Ludwig-Maximilians Univ.; Munich; Germany.
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31
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Bajpai S, Datta D, Pandey P, Ghosh T, Kumar K, Bhattacharya D. Fossils of the oldest diplodocoid dinosaur suggest India was a major centre for neosauropod radiation. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12680. [PMID: 37542094 PMCID: PMC10403599 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39759-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/30/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The Early Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits of India are known for their diverse sauropod fauna, while little is known from the Middle and Late Jurassic. Here we report the first ever remains of a dicraeosaurid sauropod from India, Tharosaurus indicus gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Jurassic (early-middle Bathonian) strata of Jaisalmer Basin, western India. Known from elements of the axial skeleton, the new taxon is phylogenetically among the earlier-diverging dicraeosaurids, and its stratigraphic age makes it the earliest known diplodocoid globally. Palaeobiogeographic considerations of Tharosaurus, seen in conjunction with the other Indian Jurassic sauropods, suggest that the new Indian taxon is a relic of a lineage that originated in India and underwent rapid dispersal across the rest of Pangaea. Here we emphasize the importance of Gondwanan India in tracing the origin and early evolutionary history of neosauropod dinosaurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunil Bajpai
- Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India.
| | - Debajit Datta
- Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India.
| | - Pragya Pandey
- Geological Survey of India, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, 492010, India
| | - Triparna Ghosh
- Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India
- Geological Survey of India, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 302004, India
| | - Krishna Kumar
- Geological Survey of India, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 302004, India
| | - Debasish Bhattacharya
- Central Head Quarters, Geological Survey of India, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700091, India
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32
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Sampaio VG, Campos LA. Paropsocolis, a new pentatomid genus with two new species from Brazil (Heteroptera, Pentatomidae, Ochlerini). Zootaxa 2023; 5323:553-566. [PMID: 38220946 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5323.4.6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
When examining specimens of the Janeirona Distant, 1911 clade of Ochlerini (Discocephalinae) we found males and females of two undescribed species. Though clearly similar to the genera in the Janeirona clade, these two species lack the diagnostic characteristics of any of them. We made a cladistic analysis to verify the placement of the two new species in Discocephalinae. A total of 38 taxa and 60 morphological characters were included in the analysis. Character polarization followed the outgroup comparison method, and the most parsimonious trees were calculated in TNT using an implied weighting approach. The analysis resulted in one most parsimonious tree where the two new species form a monophyletic group within the Ochlerini, sister to Janeirona. We propose Paropsocolis Sampaio & Campos, gen. nov. for the two new species Paropsocolis convergens Sampaio & Campos, sp. nov. and Paropsocolis divergens Sampaio & Campos, sp. nov.. The new genus is recognized by having an inconspicuous labial intercalary segment, metasternum anteriorly carinated, parameres with a basal dish-shaped process and a bifurcated apex, theca with one apical ventral process, endosoma with one dorsal and one ventral processes, laterotergites IX surpassing the mediotergite VIII, and thickening of vaginal intima circular. P. convergens Sampaio & Campos, sp. nov. and P. divergens Sampaio & Campos, sp. nov. are described to Brazil. A distributional map is provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincius Gomes Sampaio
- Departamento de Zoologia; Instituto de Biocincias; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Av. Bento Gonalves 9500; 91501- 970; Porto Alegre; RS; Brazil.
| | - Luiz Alexandre Campos
- Departamento de Zoologia; Instituto de Biocincias; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Av. Bento Gonalves 9500; 91501- 970; Porto Alegre; RS; Brazil.
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Lacerda MBS, Bittencourt JS, Hutchinson JR. Macroevolutionary patterns in the pelvis, stylopodium and zeugopodium of megalosauroid theropod dinosaurs and their importance for locomotor function. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230481. [PMID: 37593714 PMCID: PMC10427828 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230481] [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: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
During the Mesozoic, non-avian theropods represented one of the most successful clades globally distributed, with a wide diversity of forms. An example is the clade Megalosauroidea, which included medium- to large-bodied forms. Here, we analyse the macroevolution of the locomotor system in early Theropoda, emphasizing the Megalosauroidea. We scored the Spinosaurus neotype in a published taxon-character matrix and described the associated modifications in character states, mapping them onto a phylogeny and using these to study disparity. In the evolution of Megalosauroidea, there was the mosaic emergence of a low swollen ridge; enlargement of the posterior brevis fossa and emergence of a posterodorsal process on the ilium in some megalosauroids; emergence of a femoral head oriented anteromedially and medially angled, and appearance of posterolaterally oriented medial femoral condyles in spinosaurids. The greatest morphological disparity is in the ilium of megalosaurids; the ischium seems to have a high degree of homoplasy; there is a clear distinction in the femoral morphospace regarding megalosauroids and other theropods; piatnitzkysaurids show considerable disparity of zeugopodial characters. These reconstructions of osteological evolution form a stronger basis on which other studies could build, such as mapping of pelvic/appendicular musculature and/or correlating skeletal traits with changes in locomotor function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro B. S. Lacerda
- Structure and Motion Laboratory, Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield AL9 7TA, UK
- Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Jonathas S. Bittencourt
- Departamento de Geologia, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Brazil
| | - John R. Hutchinson
- Structure and Motion Laboratory, Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield AL9 7TA, UK
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Shi YT, Liu J. The tetrapod fauna of the upper Permian Naobaogou Formation of China: 10. Jimusaria monanensis sp. nov. (Dicynodontia) shows a unique epipterygoid. PeerJ 2023; 11:e15783. [PMID: 37547715 PMCID: PMC10399559 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Jimusaria is the first reported Chinese dicynodont, previously only known from Xinjiang. Here we refer two specimens from the Naobaogou Formation, Nei Mongol, China to Jimusaria based on the following features: squamosal separated from supraoccipital by tabular, tabular contacting opisthotic, sharp and thin lateral dentary shelf expanding anteriorly into a thick swelling, nasals fused as single element, rod-like medial bar formed by footplate of epipterygoid connecting to the parabasisphenoid and periotic medially. A new species, J. monanensis, is named based on the diagnostic characters on these two specimens such as distinct caniniform buttress lacking posteroventral furrow, naso-frontal suture forming an anterior directed sharp angle, and converging ventral ridges on posterior portion of anterior pterygoid rami. In Jimusaria, the epipterygoid posteromedially contacts the parabasisphenoid and the periotic as a rod-like bar, a unique morphology unknown in any other dicynodonts. This structure probably increases the stability of the palatal complex. A similar structure might also appear in other dicynodonts as a cartilage connection. The new occurrence of Jimusaria increases the diversity of the tetrapod assemblage from the Naobaogou Formation, and further strengthens the connection between the tetrapod faunas from Nei Mongol and Xinjiang. Based on the current record, Jimusaria is one of the few tetrapod genera which survived in the end-Permian mass extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Tai Shi
- 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
- College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jun Liu
- 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
- College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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35
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Klompen H, Gerdeman BS. Genus-level revision of the Heterozerconoidea (Parasitiformes: Mesostigmata). Zootaxa 2023; 5322:1-66. [PMID: 37518204 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5322.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
The genera of Heterozerconoidea are revised based on a species-level analysis of relationships in the group. The family Discozerconidae in its current state may be paraphyletic. Diagnoses for the genera are updated, and a catalog of all described species is provided. As part of this re-analysis two new genera, Amyzozercon and Ecuazercon, and four new species are described, and a key to the genera is provided. Possible evolutionary implications of the proposed set of relationships in terms of biogeography and the evolution of podospermy are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hans Klompen
- Acarology Collection; Ohio State University; 1315 Kinnear Rd.; Columbus; OH 43212; U.S.A..
| | - Beverly S Gerdeman
- Washington State University; Mount Vernon Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center; Mount Vernon; WA 98273; U.S.A.
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36
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Smith MR. Evolution: Assembling the deuterostome body plan. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R691-R694. [PMID: 37339599 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/22/2023]
Abstract
Starfish, graptolites and humans look as different as can be, yet are more closely related to each other than to any other phylum. Disc-shaped Cambrian fossils join the dots between these disparate body plans to plot out their evolutionary origins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin R Smith
- Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, Mountjoy Site, Durham DH1 3LE, UK.
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37
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Alarcón-Muñoz J, Vargas AO, Püschel HP, Soto-Acuña S, Manríquez L, Leppe M, Kaluza J, Milla V, Gutstein CS, Palma-Liberona J, Stinnesbeck W, Frey E, Pino JP, Bajor D, Núñez E, Ortiz H, Rubilar-Rogers D, Cruzado-Caballero P. Relict duck-billed dinosaurs survived into the last age of the dinosaurs in subantarctic Chile. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadg2456. [PMID: 37327335 PMCID: PMC10275600 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg2456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
In the dusk of the Mesozoic, advanced duck-billed dinosaurs (Hadrosauridae) were so successful that they likely outcompeted other herbivores, contributing to declines in dinosaur diversity. From Laurasia, hadrosaurids dispersed widely, colonizing Africa, South America, and, allegedly, Antarctica. Here, we present the first species of a duck-billed dinosaur from a subantarctic region, Gonkoken nanoi, of early Maastrichtian age in Magallanes, Chile. Unlike duckbills further north in Patagonia, Gonkoken descends from North American forms diverging shortly before the origin of Hadrosauridae. However, at the time, non-hadrosaurids in North America had become replaced by hadrosaurids. We propose that the ancestors of Gonkoken arrived earlier in South America and reached further south, into regions where hadrosaurids never arrived: All alleged subantarctic and Antarctic remains of hadrosaurids could belong to non-hadrosaurid duckbills like Gonkoken. Dinosaur faunas of the world underwent qualitatively different changes before the Cretaceous-Paleogene asteroid impact, which should be considered when discussing their possible vulnerability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jhonatan Alarcón-Muñoz
- Red Paleontológica U-Chile, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Área Paleontología, Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Alexander O. Vargas
- Red Paleontológica U-Chile, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Hans P. Püschel
- Red Paleontológica U-Chile, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Sergio Soto-Acuña
- Red Paleontológica U-Chile, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- KayTreng Consultores SpA, Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile
- Escuela de Geología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor, Manuel Montt 367, Providencia, Santiago, Chile
| | | | - Marcelo Leppe
- Laboratorio de Paleobiología, Instituto Nacional Antártico Chileno, Punta Arenas, Chile
| | - Jonatan Kaluza
- Fundación Félix de Azara, Argentina, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Verónica Milla
- Red Paleontológica U-Chile, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Carolina S. Gutstein
- Red Paleontológica U-Chile, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Paleo Consultores, Pedro de Valdivia 273, Providencia 1602, Chile
| | - José Palma-Liberona
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Wolfgang Stinnesbeck
- Institut für Geowissenschaften, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 234-236, Heidelberg 69120, Germany
| | - Eberhard Frey
- Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe (SMNK), Erbprinzenstraße 13, Karlsruhe 76133, Germany
| | - Juan Pablo Pino
- Red Paleontológica U-Chile, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Dániel Bajor
- Red Paleontológica U-Chile, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Elaine Núñez
- Red Paleontológica U-Chile, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Héctor Ortiz
- Red Paleontológica U-Chile, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Universidad de Magallanes, Punta Arenas, Chile
| | - David Rubilar-Rogers
- Área Paleontología, Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Penélope Cruzado-Caballero
- Área de Paleontología, Departamento de Biología Animal, Edafología y Geología, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
- Grupo Aragosaurus-IUCA, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
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Frolov AV, Akhmetova LA, Neita-Moreno JC. Phylogenetic analysis of the Neotropical scarab beetle tribe Aegidiini (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Orphninae) with description of new taxa. Zookeys 2023; 1166:33-47. [PMID: 37323473 PMCID: PMC10265217 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1166.102813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
In the Neotropics, orphnine scarab beetles are represented by the endemic tribe Aegidiini Paulian, 1984 with five genera and over 50 species. Phylogenetic analysis based on morphological characters of all supraspecific taxa of Orphninae showed that Aegidiini is comprised of two lineages. New subtribes, Aegidiina subtr. nov. (Aegidium Westwood, 1845, Paraegidium Vulcano et al., 1966, Aegidiellus Paulian, 1984, and Onorius Frolov & Vaz-de-Mello, 2015, and Aegidininasubtr. nov. (Aegidinus Arrow, 1904) are proposed to better reflect this phylogeny. Two new species of Aegidinus are described: A.alexanderisp. nov., from the Yungas in Peru and A.elbaesp. nov. from the Caqueta moist forests ecoregion in Colombia. A diagnostic key to Aegidinus species is given.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey V. Frolov
- Laboratory of Insect Systematics, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab., 1, St.-Petersburg 199034, RussiaZoological Institute, Russian Academy of SciencesSt. PetersburgRussia
| | - Lilia A. Akhmetova
- Laboratory of Insect Systematics, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab., 1, St.-Petersburg 199034, RussiaZoological Institute, Russian Academy of SciencesSt. PetersburgRussia
| | - Jhon César Neita-Moreno
- Instituto de Investigaciones de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Claustro de San Agustín, Boyacá, ColombiaInstituto de Investigaciones de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von HumboldtBoyacáColombia
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Du FC, Li YH, Xu KD. Morphology and molecular phylogeny of Pleurosigmapacificum sp. nov. (Pleurosigmataceae), a new tropical pelagic species from the Western Pacific Ocean. PHYTOKEYS 2023; 227:99-108. [PMID: 37303594 PMCID: PMC10257139 DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.227.103890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
A new species of pelagic diatom, Pleurosigmapacificumsp. nov., is described from the tropical Western Pacific Ocean. It has the typical features of Pleurosigma, including a slightly sigmoid raphe, intersected transverse and oblique striae, and loculate areolae with external opening slits and internal poroids. Morphologically, P.pacificum belongs to a species group of Pleurosigma with lanceolate valves, including P.atlanticum Heiden & Kolbe, P.nubecula W. Smith, P.indicum Simonsen, and P.simonsenii Hasle. However, P.pacificum differs by its smaller lanceolate valve and smaller intersection angle as well as elliptical areolae without a silica bar. The SSU rDNA and rbcL sequence data place P.pacificum in a basal position relative to other species of Pleurosigma. Our molecular phylogenetic analyses did not support the monophyly of lanceolate and slightly sigmoid species. Thus, the sigmoidality of valve outline cannot be considered as a criterion to define the species group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei-Chao Du
- Laboratory of Marine Organism Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Qingdao Key Laboratory of Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, ChinaInstitute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of SciencesQingdaoChina
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Yu-Hang Li
- Laboratory of Marine Organism Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Qingdao Key Laboratory of Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, ChinaInstitute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of SciencesQingdaoChina
| | - Kui-Dong Xu
- Laboratory of Marine Organism Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Qingdao Key Laboratory of Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, ChinaInstitute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of SciencesQingdaoChina
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao 266237, ChinaPilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and TechnologyQingdaoChina
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40
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Poropat SF, Mannion PD, Rigby SL, Duncan RJ, Pentland AH, Bevitt JJ, Sloan T, Elliott DA. A nearly complete skull of the sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae from the Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation of Australia and implications for the early evolution of titanosaurs. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:221618. [PMID: 37063988 PMCID: PMC10090887 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.221618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs were diverse and abundant throughout the Cretaceous, with a global distribution. However, few titanosaurian taxa are represented by multiple skeletons, let alone skulls. Diamantinasaurus matildae, from the lower Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia, was heretofore represented by three specimens, including one that preserves a braincase and several other cranial elements. Herein, we describe a fourth specimen of Diamantinasaurus matildae that preserves a more complete skull-including numerous cranial elements not previously known for this taxon-as well as a partial postcranial skeleton. The skull of Diamantinasaurus matildae shows many similarities to that of the coeval Sarmientosaurus musacchioi from Argentina (e.g. quadratojugal with posterior tongue-like process; braincase with more than one ossified exit for cranial nerve V; compressed-cone-chisel-like teeth), providing further support for the inclusion of both taxa within the clade Diamantinasauria. The replacement teeth within the premaxilla of the new specimen are morphologically congruent with teeth previously attributed to Diamantinasaurus matildae, and Diamantinasauria more broadly, corroborating those referrals. Plesiomorphic characters of the new specimen include a sacrum comprising five vertebrae (also newly demonstrated in the holotype of Diamantinasaurus matildae), rather than the six or more that typify other titanosaurs. However, we demonstrate that there have been a number of independent acquisitions of a six-vertebrae sacrum among Somphospondyli and/or that there have been numerous reversals to a five-vertebrae sacrum, suggesting that sacral count is relatively plastic. Other newly identified plesiomorphic features include: the overall skull shape, which is more similar to brachiosaurids than 'derived' titanosaurs; anterior caudal centra that are amphicoelous, rather than procoelous; and a pedal phalangeal formula estimated as 2-2-3-2-0. These features are consistent with either an early-branching position within Titanosauria, or a position just outside the titanosaurian radiation, for Diamantinasauria, as indicated by alternative character weighting approaches applied in our phylogenetic analyses, and help to shed light on the early assembly of titanosaurian anatomy that has until now been obscured by a poor fossil record.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen F. Poropat
- Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, School of Earth and Planetary Science, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia 6102, Australia
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Philip D. Mannion
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Samantha L. Rigby
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia
- School of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia
| | - Ruairidh J. Duncan
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Adele H. Pentland
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia
- School of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia
| | - Joseph J. Bevitt
- Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Sydney, New South Wales 2234, Australia
| | - Trish Sloan
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia
| | - David A. Elliott
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia
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