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Macaluso L, Mannion PD, Evans SE, Carnevale G, Monti S, Marchitelli D, Delfino M. Biogeographic history of Palearctic caudates revealed by a critical appraisal of their fossil record quality and spatio-temporal distribution. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220935. [PMID: 36465678 PMCID: PMC9709575 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220935] [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: 07/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The disjunct geographical range of many lineages of caudates points to a complex evolutionary and biogeographic history that cannot be disentangled by only considering the present-day distribution of salamander biodiversity. Here, we provide a critical reappraisal of the published fossil record of caudates from the Palearctic and quantitatively evaluate the quality of the group's fossil record. Stem-Urodela and Karauridae were widespread in the Palearctic in the Middle Jurassic, suggesting an earlier, unsampled diversification for this group. Cryptobranchidae reached Europe no later than the Oligocene, but this clade was subsequently extirpated from this continent, as well as from western and central Asia. The relatively recent appearance of hynobiids in the fossil record (Early Miocene) is most likely an artefact of a taphonomic bias against the preservation of high-mountain, stream-type environments which early members likely inhabited. Salamandroids first appear in Europe, expanding into Asia by the Miocene. The apparently enigmatic and disjunct distribution of extant caudate lineages is therefore explained by a wider past geographical range, as testified by the fossil record, which was fragmented during the late Cenozoic by a combination of tectonic (i.e. the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau) and climatic drivers, resulting in regional extirpations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loredana Macaluso
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, 10125, Turin, Italy
| | - Philip D. Mannion
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, WC1E 6BT London, UK
| | - Susan E. Evans
- Research Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, WC1E 6BT London, UK
| | - Giorgio Carnevale
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, 10125, Turin, Italy
| | - Sara Monti
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, 10125, Turin, Italy
| | - Domenico Marchitelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, 10125, Turin, Italy
| | - Massimo Delfino
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, 10125, Turin, Italy
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTAICP, c/ Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
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2
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Abstract
Salamanders are an important group of living amphibians and model organisms for understanding locomotion, development, regeneration, feeding, and toxicity in tetrapods. However, their origin and early radiation remain poorly understood, with early fossil stem-salamanders so far represented by larval or incompletely known taxa. This poor record also limits understanding of the origin of Lissamphibia (i.e., frogs, salamanders, and caecilians). We report fossils from the Middle Jurassic of Scotland representing almost the entire skeleton of the enigmatic stem-salamander Marmorerpeton. We use computed tomography to visualize high-resolution three-dimensional anatomy, describing morphologies that were poorly characterized in early salamanders, including the braincase, scapulocoracoid, and lower jaw. We use these data in the context of a phylogenetic analysis intended to resolve the relationships of early and stem-salamanders, including representation of important outgroups alongside data from high-resolution imaging of extant species. Marmorerpeton is united with Karaurus, Kokartus, and others from the Middle Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous of Asia, providing evidence for an early radiation of robustly built neotenous stem-salamanders. These taxa display morphological specializations similar to the extant cryptobranchid "giant" salamanders. Our analysis also demonstrates stem-group affinities for a larger sample of Jurassic species than previously recognized, highlighting an unappreciated diversity of stem-salamanders and cautioning against the use of single species (e.g., Karaurus) as exemplars for stem-salamander anatomy. These phylogenetic findings, combined with knowledge of the near-complete skeletal anatomy of Mamorerpeton, advance our understanding of evolutionary changes on the salamander stem-lineage and provide important data on early salamanders and the origins of Batrachia and Lissamphibia.
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3
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Jia J, Li G, Gao KQ. Palatal morphology predicts the paleobiology of early salamanders. eLife 2022; 11:76864. [PMID: 35575462 PMCID: PMC9170251 DOI: 10.7554/elife.76864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecological preferences and life history strategies have enormous impacts on the evolution and phenotypic diversity of salamanders, but the yet established reliable ecological indicators from bony skeletons hinder investigations into the paleobiology of early salamanders. Here, we statistically demonstrate by using time-calibrated cladograms and geometric morphometric analysis on 71 specimens in 36 species, that both the shape of the palate and many non-shape covariates particularly associated with vomerine teeth are ecologically informative in early stem- and basal crown-group salamanders. Disparity patterns within the morphospace of the palate in ecological preferences, life history strategies, and taxonomic affiliations were analyzed in detail, and evolutionary rates and ancestral states of the palate were reconstructed. Our results show that the palate is heavily impacted by convergence constrained by feeding mechanisms and also exhibits clear stepwise evolutionary patterns with alternative phenotypic configurations to cope with similar functional demand. Salamanders are diversified ecologically before the Middle Jurassic and achieved all their present ecological preferences in the Early Cretaceous. Our results reveal that the last common ancestor of all salamanders share with other modern amphibians a unified biphasic ecological preference, and metamorphosis is significant in the expansion of ecomorphospace of the palate in early salamanders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Jia
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Guangzhao Li
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine, George Washington University, Washington, United States
| | - Ke-Qin Gao
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
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4
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A Triassic stem-salamander from Kyrgyzstan and the origin of salamanders. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:11584-11588. [PMID: 32393623 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2001424117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The origin of extant amphibians remains largely obscure, with only a few early Mesozoic stem taxa known, as opposed to a much better fossil record from the mid-Jurassic on. In recent time, anurans have been traced back to Early Triassic forms and caecilians have been traced back to the Late Jurassic Eocaecilia, both of which exemplify the stepwise acquisition of apomorphies. Yet the most ancient stem-salamanders, known from mid-Jurassic rocks, shed little light on the origin of the clade. The gap between salamanders and other lissamphibians, as well as Paleozoic tetrapods, remains considerable. Here we report a new specimen of Triassurus sixtelae, a hitherto enigmatic tetrapod from the Middle/Late Triassic of Kyrgyzstan, which we identify as the geologically oldest stem-group salamander. This sheds light not only on the early evolution of the salamander body plan, but also on the origin of the group as a whole. The new, second specimen is derived from the same beds as the holotype, the Madygen Formation of southwestern Kyrgyzstan. It reveals a range of salamander characters in this taxon, pushing back the rock record of urodeles by at least 60 to 74 Ma (Carnian-Bathonian). In addition, this stem-salamander shares plesiomorphic characters with temnospondyls, especially branchiosaurids and amphibamiforms.
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5
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A new small-sized stem salamander from the Middle Jurassic of Western Siberia, Russia. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0228610. [PMID: 32074114 PMCID: PMC7029856 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 01/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Salamanders (Caudata) are one of the three modern groups of amphibians known from the Middle Jurassic. The early stages of evolution of these amphibians are still poorly known, especially for stem taxa of Jurassic age. A new small-sized stem salamander, Egoria malashichevi gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) Itat Formation of the Berezovsk Quarry locality in Western Siberia, Russia, is described on the basis of isolated vertebrae, including an atlas centrum and a fragmentary trunk vertebra centrum previously referred to an undescribed salamander taxon (“Berezovsk salamander A”). The new taxon is diagnosed by the following unique combination of vertebral characters: atlantal anterior cotyles with elliptical anterior outline, located at an angle of approximately 135–137 degrees to each other; wide posterior portion of the atlantal centrum; ossified portion of the intercotylar tubercle represented by dorsal and ventral lips; absence of a deep depression on the ventral surface of the atlantal centrum; absence of pronounced ventrolateral ridges on the atlas; absence of spinal nerve foramina; presence of a pitted texture on the ventral and lateral surfaces of the centra and lateral surfaces neural arch pedicels; presence of a short atlantal neural arch with its anterior border situated behind the level of the anterior cotyles; short trunk vertebrae; and upper transverse process (= diapophysis) larger than lower transverse process (= parapophysis) on the trunk vertebrae; notochordal canal opens in the upper half of the cotyle (= the lower portion of the centrum is more massive and less compact than the upper portion). The microanatomical organization of the atlas and trunk vertebrae is characterized by the presence of inner cancellous endochondral bone. The small body size (about 180–215 mm) of Egoria malashichevi gen. et sp. nov. indicates that that not all stem salamanders were large neotenic forms (up to 550–600 mm in Urupia and Marmorerpeton) and hints at a broader ecological role for stem salamanders.
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6
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Atkins JB, Reisz RR, Maddin HC. Braincase simplification and the origin of lissamphibians. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0213694. [PMID: 30901341 PMCID: PMC6430379 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2018] [Accepted: 02/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Dissorophoidea, a group of temnospondyl tetrapods that first appear in the Late Carboniferous, is made up of two clades ⎼ Olsoniformes and Amphibamiformes (Branchiosauridae and Amphibamidae) ⎼ the latter of which is widely thought to have given rise to living amphibians (i.e., Lissamphibia). The lissamphibian braincase has a highly derived morphology with several secondarily lost elements; however, these losses have never been incorporated into phylogenetic analyses and thus the timing and nature of these evolutionary events remain unknown. Hindering research into this problem has been the lack of phylogenetic analyses of Dissorophoidea that includes both taxonomically dense sampling and specific characters to document changes in the braincase in the lineage leading to Lissamphibia. Here we build on a recent, broadly sampled dissorophoid phylogenetic analysis to visualize key events in the evolution of the lissamphibian braincase. Our ancestral character state reconstructions show a clear, step-wise trend towards reduction of braincase ossification leading to lissamphibians, including reduction of the sphenethmoid, loss of the basioccipital at the Amphibamiformes node, and further loss of both the basisphenoid and the hypoglossal nerve foramina at the Lissamphibia node. Our analysis confirms that the highly derived condition of the lissamphibian braincase is characterized by overall simplification in terms of the number and extent of chondrocranial ossifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jade B. Atkins
- Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- * E-mail:
| | - Robert R. Reisz
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada
- International Center of Future Science, Dinosaur Evolution Research Center, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Hillary C. Maddin
- Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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7
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Danto M, Witzmann F, Kamenz SK, Fröbisch NB. How informative is vertebral development for the origin of lissamphibians? J Zool (1987) 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- M. Danto
- Museum für Naturkunde Leibniz‐Institut für Evolutions‐ und Biodiversitätsforschung Berlin Germany
| | - F. Witzmann
- Museum für Naturkunde Leibniz‐Institut für Evolutions‐ und Biodiversitätsforschung Berlin Germany
| | - S. K. Kamenz
- Museum für Naturkunde Leibniz‐Institut für Evolutions‐ und Biodiversitätsforschung Berlin Germany
| | - N. B. Fröbisch
- Museum für Naturkunde Leibniz‐Institut für Evolutions‐ und Biodiversitätsforschung Berlin Germany
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8
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Matsumoto R, Evans SE. The first record of albanerpetontid amphibians (Amphibia: Albanerpetontidae) from East Asia. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0189767. [PMID: 29298317 PMCID: PMC5752013 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2017] [Accepted: 11/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Albanerpetontids are an enigmatic fossil amphibian group known from deposits of Middle Jurassic to Pliocene age. The oldest and youngest records are from Europe, but the group appeared in North America in the late Early Cretaceous and radiated there during the Late Cretaceous. Until now, the Asian record has been limited to fragmentary specimens from the Late Cretaceous of Uzbekistan. This led to speculation that albanerpetontids migrated into eastern Asia from North America in the Albian to Cenomanian interval via the Beringian land bridge. However, here we describe albanerpetontid specimens from the Lower Cretaceous Kuwajima Formation of Japan, a record that predates their first known occurrence in North America. One specimen, an association of skull and postcranial bones from a single small individual, permits the diagnosis of a new taxon. High Resolution X-ray Computed Microtomography has revealed previously unrecorded features of albanerpetontid skull morphology in three dimensions, including the presence of a supraoccipital and epipterygoids, neither of which occurs in any known lissamphibian. The placement of this new taxon within the current phylogenetic framework for Albanerpetontidae is complicated by a limited overlap of comparable elements, most notably the non-preservation of the premaxillae in the Japanese taxon. Nonetheless, phylogenetic analysis places the new taxon closer to Albanerpeton than to Anoualerpeton, Celtedens, or Wesserpeton, although Bootstrap support values are weak. The results also question the monophyly of Albanerpeton as currently defined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryoko Matsumoto
- Department of Zoology, Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Natural History, Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
| | - Susan E. Evans
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, England
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9
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Evidence for complex life cycle constraints on salamander body form diversification. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:9936-9941. [PMID: 28851828 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1703877114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Metazoans display a tremendous diversity of developmental patterns, including complex life cycles composed of morphologically disparate stages. In this regard, the evolution of life cycle complexity promotes phenotypic diversity. However, correlations between life cycle stages can constrain the evolution of some structures and functions. Despite the potential macroevolutionary consequences, few studies have tested the impacts of life cycle evolution on broad-scale patterns of trait diversification. Here we show that larval and adult salamanders with a simple, aquatic-only (paedomorphic) life cycle had an increased rate of vertebral column and body form diversification compared to lineages with a complex, aquatic-terrestrial (biphasic) life cycle. These differences in life cycle complexity explain the variations in vertebral number and adult body form better than larval ecology. In addition, we found that lineages with a simple terrestrial-only (direct developing) life cycle also had a higher rate of adult body form evolution than biphasic lineages, but still 10-fold lower than aquatic-only lineages. Our analyses demonstrate that prominent shifts in phenotypic evolution can follow long-term transitions in life cycle complexity, which may reflect underlying stage-dependent constraints.
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10
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Jia J, Gao KQ. A new hynobiid-like salamander (Amphibia, Urodela) from Inner Mongolia, China, provides a rare case study of developmental features in an Early Cretaceous fossil urodele. PeerJ 2016; 4:e2499. [PMID: 27761316 PMCID: PMC5068444 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2016] [Accepted: 08/29/2016] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
A new fossil salamander, Nuominerpeton aquilonaris (gen. et sp. nov.), is named and described based on specimens from the Lower Cretaceous Guanghua Formation of Inner Mongolia, China. The new discovery documents a far northern occurrence of Early Cretaceous salamanders in China, extending the geographic distribution for the Mesozoic fossil record of the group from the Jehol area (40th-45th parallel north) to near the 49th parallel north. The new salamander is characterized by having the orbitosphenoid semicircular in shape; coracoid plate of the scapulocoracoid greatly expanded with a convex ventral and posterior border; ossification of two centralia in carpus and tarsus; and first digit being about half the length of the second digit in both manus and pes. The new salamander appears to be closely related to hynobiids, although this inferred relationship awaits confirmation by research in progress by us on a morphological and molecular combined analysis of cryptobranchoid relationships. Comparison of adult with larval and postmetamorphic juvenile specimens provides insights into developmental patterns of cranial and postcranial skeletons in this fossil species, especially resorption of the palatine and anterior portions of the palatopterygoid in the palate and the coronoid in the mandible during metamorphosis, and postmetamorphic ossification of the mesopodium in both manus and pes. Thus, this study provides a rare case study of developmental features in a Mesozoic salamander.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Jia
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Ke-Qin Gao
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
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11
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Pardo JD, Anderson JS. Cranial Morphology of the Carboniferous-Permian Tetrapod Brachydectes newberryi (Lepospondyli, Lysorophia): New Data from µCT. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0161823. [PMID: 27563722 PMCID: PMC5001628 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2016] [Accepted: 08/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Lysorophians are a group of early tetrapods with extremely elongate trunks, reduced limbs, and highly reduced skulls. Since the first discovery of this group, general similarities in outward appearance between lysorophians and some modern lissamphibian orders (specifically Urodela and Gymnophiona) have been recognized, and sometimes been the basis for hypotheses of lissamphibian origins. We studied the morphology of the skull, with particular emphasis on the neurocranium, of a partial growth series of the lysorophian Brachydectes newberryi using x-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT). Our study reveals similarities between the braincase of Brachydectes and brachystelechid recumbirostrans, corroborating prior work suggesting a close relationship between these taxa. We also describe the morphology of the epipterygoid, stapes, and quadrate in this taxon for the first time. Contra the proposals of some workers, we find no evidence of expected lissamphibian synapomorphies in the skull morphology in Brachydectes newberryi, and instead recognize a number of derived amniote characteristics within the braincase and suspensorium. Morphology previously considered indicative of taxonomic diversity within Lysorophia may reflect ontogenetic rather than taxonomic variation. The highly divergent morphology of lysorophians represents a refinement of morphological and functional trends within recumbirostrans, and is analogous to morphology observed in many modern fossorial reptiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason D. Pardo
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Jason S. Anderson
- Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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12
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Gregory AL, Sears BR, Wooten JA, Camp CD, Falk A, O'Quin K, Pauley TK. Evolution of dentition in salamanders: relative roles of phylogeny and diet. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anna L. Gregory
- Department of Biology; Centre College; 600 West Walnut Street Danville KY 40422 USA
| | - Brittany R. Sears
- Department of Biology; Centre College; 600 West Walnut Street Danville KY 40422 USA
| | - Jessica A. Wooten
- Department of Biology; Centre College; 600 West Walnut Street Danville KY 40422 USA
| | - Carlos D. Camp
- Department of Biology; Piedmont College; 1021 Central Avenue Demorest GA 30535 USA
| | - Amanda Falk
- Department of Biology; Centre College; 600 West Walnut Street Danville KY 40422 USA
| | - Kelly O'Quin
- Department of Biology; Centre College; 600 West Walnut Street Danville KY 40422 USA
| | - Thomas K. Pauley
- Department of Biological Sciences; Marshall University; 1 John Marshall Way Huntington WV 25755 USA
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13
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Jia J, Gao KQ. A New Basal Salamandroid (Amphibia, Urodela) from the Late Jurassic of Qinglong, Hebei Province, China. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0153834. [PMID: 27144770 PMCID: PMC4856324 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2015] [Accepted: 04/02/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A new salamandroid salamander, Qinglongtriton gangouensis (gen. et sp. nov.), is named and described based on 46 fossil specimens of juveniles and adults collected from the Upper Jurassic (Oxfordian) Tiaojishan Formation cropping out in Hebei Province, China. The new salamander displays several ontogenetically and taxonomically significant features, most prominently the presence of a toothed palatine, toothed coronoid, and a unique pattern of the hyobranchium in adults. Comparative study of the new salamander with previously known fossil and extant salamandroids sheds new light on the early evolution of the Salamandroidea, the most species-diverse clade in the Urodela. Cladistic analysis places the new salamander as the sister taxon to Beiyanerpeton, and the two taxa together form the basalmost clade within the Salamandroidea. Along with recently reported Beiyanerpeton from the same geological formation in the neighboring Liaoning Province, the discovery of Qinglongtriton indicates that morphological disparity had been underway for the salamandroid clade by early Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Jia
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Ke-Qin Gao
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing, 100871, China
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14
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Tissier J, Rage JC, Boistel R, Fernandez V, Pollet N, Garcia G, Laurin M. Synchrotron analysis of a ‘mummified’ salamander (Vertebrata: Caudata) from the Eocene of Quercy, France. Zool J Linn Soc 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/zoj.12341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jérémy Tissier
- Centre de Recherches sur la Paléobiodiversité et les Paléoenvironnements CR2P; UMR CNRS 7207; Sorbonne Universités; MNHN/CNRS/UPMC; Muséum national d'histoire naturelle; 57 rue Cuvier, CP 38 and 48 75005 Paris France
| | - Jean-Claude Rage
- Centre de Recherches sur la Paléobiodiversité et les Paléoenvironnements CR2P; UMR CNRS 7207; Sorbonne Universités; MNHN/CNRS/UPMC; Muséum national d'histoire naturelle; 57 rue Cuvier, CP 38 and 48 75005 Paris France
| | - Renaud Boistel
- IPHEP; Université de Poitiers UMR CNRS 7262; 6 rue Michel Brunet 86073 Poitiers France
| | - Vincent Fernandez
- ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility); 71 avenue des Martyrs 38000 Grenoble France
| | - Nicolas Pollet
- Evolution; Génomes; Comportement et Ecologie, CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, IRD, Université Paris-Saclay; 1 avenue de la Terrasse F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette France
| | - Géraldine Garcia
- IPHEP; Université de Poitiers UMR CNRS 7262; 6 rue Michel Brunet 86073 Poitiers France
| | - Michel Laurin
- Centre de Recherches sur la Paléobiodiversité et les Paléoenvironnements CR2P; UMR CNRS 7207; Sorbonne Universités; MNHN/CNRS/UPMC; Muséum national d'histoire naturelle; 57 rue Cuvier, CP 38 and 48 75005 Paris France
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15
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Fortuny J, Marcé-Nogué J, Heiss E, Sanchez M, Gil L, Galobart À. 3D bite modeling and feeding mechanics of the largest living amphibian, the Chinese giant salamander Andrias davidianus (Amphibia:Urodela). PLoS One 2015; 10:e0121885. [PMID: 25853557 PMCID: PMC4390218 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2014] [Accepted: 02/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Biting is an integral feature of the feeding mechanism for aquatic and terrestrial salamanders to capture, fix or immobilize elusive or struggling prey. However, little information is available on how it works and the functional implications of this biting system in amphibians although such approaches might be essential to understand feeding systems performed by early tetrapods. Herein, the skull biomechanics of the Chinese giant salamander, Andrias davidianus is investigated using 3D finite element analysis. The results reveal that the prey contact position is crucial for the structural performance of the skull, which is probably related to the lack of a bony bridge between the posterior end of the maxilla and the anterior quadrato-squamosal region. Giant salamanders perform asymmetrical strikes. These strikes are unusual and specialized behavior but might indeed be beneficial in such sit-and-wait or ambush-predators to capture laterally approaching prey. However, once captured by an asymmetrical strike, large, elusive and struggling prey have to be brought to the anterior jaw region to be subdued by a strong bite. Given their basal position within extant salamanders and their "conservative" morphology, cryptobranchids may be useful models to reconstruct the feeding ecology and biomechanics of different members of early tetrapods and amphibians, with similar osteological and myological constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josep Fortuny
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Sabadell, Spain
- Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya—BarcelonaTech, Terrassa, Spain
| | - Jordi Marcé-Nogué
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Sabadell, Spain
- Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya—BarcelonaTech, Terrassa, Spain
| | - Egon Heiss
- Department of Integrative Zoology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Institute of Systematic Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Lluis Gil
- Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya—BarcelonaTech, Terrassa, Spain
| | - Àngel Galobart
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Sabadell, Spain
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16
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Skutschas P, Stein K. Long bone histology of the stem salamander Kokartus honorarius (Amphibia: Caudata) from the Middle Jurassic of Kyrgyzstan. J Anat 2015; 226:334-47. [PMID: 25682890 DOI: 10.1111/joa.12281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Kokartus honorarius from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) of Kyrgyzstan is one of the oldest salamanders in the fossil record, characterized by a mixture of plesiomorphic morphological features and characters shared with crown-group salamanders. Here we present a detailed histological analysis of its long bones. The analysis of a growth series demonstrates a significant histological maturation during ontogeny, expressed by the progressive appearance of longitudinally oriented primary vascular canals, primary osteons, growth marks, remodelling features in primary bone tissues, as well as progressive resorption of the calcified cartilage, formation of endochondral bone and development of cartilaginous to bony trabeculae in the epiphyses. Apart from the presence of secondary osteons, the long bone histology of Kokartus is very similar to that of miniaturized temnospondyls, other Jurassic stem salamanders, miniaturized seymouriamorphs and modern crown-group salamanders. We propose that the presence of secondary osteons in Kokartus honorarius is a plesiomorphic feature, and the loss of secondary osteons in the long bones of crown-group salamanders as well as in those of miniaturized temnospondyls is the result of miniaturization processes. Hitherto, all stem salamander long bong histology (Kokartus, Marmorerpeton and 'salamander A') has been generally described as having paedomorphic features (i.e. the presence of Katschenko's Line and a layer of calcified cartilage), these taxa were thus most likely neotenic forms. The absence of clear lines of arrested growth and annuli in long bones of Kokartus honorarius suggests that the animals lived in an environment with stable local conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavel Skutschas
- Vertebrate Zoology Department, Biological Faculty, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
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17
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Stein KWH, Werner J. Preliminary analysis of osteocyte lacunar density in long bones of tetrapods: all measures are bigger in sauropod dinosaurs. PLoS One 2013; 8:e77109. [PMID: 24204748 PMCID: PMC3812986 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0077109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2013] [Accepted: 09/03/2013] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Osteocytes harbour much potential for paleobiological studies. Synchrotron radiation and spectroscopic analyses are providing fascinating data on osteocyte density, size and orientation in fossil taxa. However, such studies may be costly and time consuming. Here we describe an uncomplicated and inexpensive method to measure osteocyte lacunar densities in bone thin sections. We report on cell lacunar densities in the long bones of various extant and extinct tetrapods, with a focus on sauropodomorph dinosaurs, and how lacunar densities can help us understand bone formation rates in the iconic sauropod dinosaurs. Ordinary least square and phylogenetic generalized least square regressions suggest that sauropodomorphs have lacunar densities higher than scaled up or comparably sized mammals. We also found normal mammalian-like osteocyte densities for the extinct bovid Myotragus, questioning its crocodilian-like physiology. When accounting for body mass effects and phylogeny, growth rates are a main factor determining the density of the lacunocanalicular network. However, functional aspects most likely play an important role as well. Observed differences in cell strategies between mammals and dinosaurs likely illustrate the convergent nature of fast growing bone tissues in these groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koen W. H. Stein
- Steinmann Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Jan Werner
- Institut für Zoologie, Abteilung Ökologie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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18
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Alcalde L, Basso NG. Old and new hypotheses about the homology of the compound bones from the cheek and otico-occipital regions of the anuran skull. ZOOLOGY 2013; 116:232-45. [DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2013.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2012] [Revised: 02/01/2013] [Accepted: 03/20/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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19
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Skutschas PP, Baleeva NV. The spinal cord supports of vertebrae in the crown-group salamanders (Caudata, Urodela). J Morphol 2012; 273:1031-41. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.20041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2011] [Revised: 03/20/2012] [Accepted: 04/22/2012] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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20
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Abstract
A Jurassic salamander, Beiyanerpeton jianpingensis (gen. et sp. nov.), from a recently found site in western Liaoning Province, China is the earliest known record of Salamandroidea. As a Late Jurassic record of the group, it extends the range of the clade by ~40 Ma. The Late Jurassic taxon is neotenic and represented by exceptionally preserved specimens, including fully articulated cranial and postcranial skeletons and bony gill structures close to the cheek region. The fossil beds, consisting of dark-brown volcanic ash shales of the Upper Jurassic Tiaojishan (Lanqi) Formation (Oxfordian), underlie trachyandesite rocks that have yielded a SHRIMP zircon U-Pb date of 157 ± 3 Ma. The fossiliferous beds are substantially older than the Jehol Group, including the Yixian Formation ((40)Ar/(39)Ar dates of 122-129 Ma), but slightly younger than the Middle Jurassic Daohugou horizon ((40)Ar/(39)Ar date of 164 ± 4 Ma). The early fossil taxon shares with extant salamandroids derived character states, including: separated nasals lacking a midline contact, angular fused to the prearticular in the lower jaw, and double-headed ribs on the presacral vertebrae. In contrast to extant salamandroids, however, the salamander shows a discrete and tooth-bearing palatine, and unequivocally nonpedicellate and monocuspid marginal teeth in large and presumably mature individuals. The finding provides insights into the evolution of key characters of salamanders, and also provides direct evidence supporting the hypothesis that the split between Cryptobranchoidea and Salamandroidea had taken placed before the Late Jurassic Oxfordian time. In this aspect, both paleontological and molecular data now come to agree.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke-Qin Gao
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
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21
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Fossils, molecules, divergence times, and the origin of Salamandroidea. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012; 109:5557-8. [PMID: 22460794 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1202491109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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CARROLL ROBERT, ZHENG ANGELA. A neotenic salamander, Jeholotriton paradoxus, from the Daohugou Beds in Inner Mongolia. Zool J Linn Soc 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00777.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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