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Rio JP, Mannion PD. Phylogenetic analysis of a new morphological dataset elucidates the evolutionary history of Crocodylia and resolves the long-standing gharial problem. PeerJ 2021; 9:e12094. [PMID: 34567843 PMCID: PMC8428266 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2020] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
First appearing in the latest Cretaceous, Crocodylia is a clade of semi-aquatic, predatory reptiles, defined by the last common ancestor of extant alligators, caimans, crocodiles, and gharials. Despite large strides in resolving crocodylian interrelationships over the last three decades, several outstanding problems persist in crocodylian systematics. Most notably, there has been persistent discordance between morphological and molecular datasets surrounding the affinities of the extant gharials, Gavialis gangeticus and Tomistoma schlegelii. Whereas molecular data consistently support a sister taxon relationship, in which they are more closely related to crocodylids than to alligatorids, morphological data indicate that Gavialis is the sister taxon to all other extant crocodylians. Here we present a new morphological dataset for Crocodylia based on a critical reappraisal of published crocodylian character data matrices and extensive firsthand observations of a global sample of crocodylians. This comprises the most taxonomically comprehensive crocodylian dataset to date (144 OTUs scored for 330 characters) and includes a new, illustrated character list with modifications to the construction and scoring of characters, and 46 novel characters. Under a maximum parsimony framework, our analyses robustly recover Gavialis as more closely related to Tomistoma than to other extant crocodylians for the first time based on morphology alone. This result is recovered regardless of the weighting strategy and treatment of quantitative characters. However, analyses using continuous characters and extended implied weighting (with high k-values) produced the most resolved, well-supported, and stratigraphically congruent topologies overall. Resolution of the gharial problem reveals that: (1) several gavialoids lack plesiomorphic features that formerly drew them towards the stem of Crocodylia; and (2) more widespread similarities occur between species traditionally divided into tomistomines and gavialoids, with these interpreted here as homology rather than homoplasy. There remains significant temporal incongruence regarding the inferred divergence timing of the extant gharials, indicating that several putative gavialids ('thoracosaurs') are incorrectly placed and require future re-appraisal. New alligatoroid interrelationships include: (1) support for a North American origin of Caimaninae in the latest Cretaceous; (2) the recovery of the early Paleogene South American taxon Eocaiman as a 'basal' alligatoroid; and (3) the paraphyly of the Cenozoic European taxon Diplocynodon. Among crocodyloids, notable results include modifications to the taxonomic content of Mekosuchinae, including biogeographic affinities of this clade with latest Cretaceous-early Paleogene Asian crocodyloids. In light of our new results, we provide a comprehensive review of the evolutionary and biogeographic history of Crocodylia, which included multiple instances of transoceanic and continental dispersal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan P. Rio
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Philip D. Mannion
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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Blanco A. Importance of the postcranial skeleton in eusuchian phylogeny: Reassessing the systematics of allodaposuchid crocodylians. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0251900. [PMID: 34106925 PMCID: PMC8189472 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Our current knowledge on the crocodyliform evolution is strongly biased towards the skull morphology, and the postcranial skeleton is usually neglected in many taxonomic descriptions. However, it is logical to expect that it can contribute with its own phylogenetic signal. In this paper, the changes in the tree topology caused by the addition of the postcranial information are analysed for the family Allodaposuchidae, the most representative eusuchians in the latest Cretaceous of Europe. At present, different phylogenetic hypotheses have been proposed for this group without reaching a consensus. The results of this paper evidence a shift in the phylogenetic position when the postcranium is included in the dataset, pointing to a relevant phylogenetic signal in the postcranial elements. Finally, the phylogenetic relationships of allodaposuchids within Eusuchia are reassessed; and the internal relationships within Allodaposuchidae are also reconsidered after an exhaustive revision of the morphological data. New and improved diagnoses for each species are here provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Blanco
- Centro de Investigacións Científicas Avanzadas (CICA), Facultade de Ciencias, Universidade da Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
- Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, München, Germany
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Puértolas-Pascual E, Young MT, Brochu CA. Introducing the First European Symposium on the Evolution of Crocodylomorpha. Zool J Linn Soc 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe First European Symposium on the Evolution of Crocodylomorpha took place during the XVI Annual Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists (EAVP) organized by NOVA University of Lisbon (UNL) in Caparica, Portugal. Fourteen lectures and five posters were presented at the symposium in June 26th–July 1st, 2018. This special issue showcases twelve papers based on symposium contributions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Puértolas-Pascual
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia-GeoBioTec, NOVA University of Lisbon, Monte de Caparica, Caparica, Portugal
- Museu da Lourinhã, Lourinhã, Portugal
- Aragosaurus-IUCA Research Group, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Mark T Young
- School of GeoSciences, Grant Institute, The King’s Buildings, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Christopher A Brochu
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA
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Cavin L, Buffetaut E, Dutour Y, Garcia G, Le Loeuff J, Méchin A, Méchin P, Tong H, Tortosa T, Turini E, Valentin X. The last known freshwater coelacanths: New Late Cretaceous mawsoniid remains (Osteichthyes: Actinistia) from Southern France. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0234183. [PMID: 32502171 PMCID: PMC7274394 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Coelacanths are iconic fishes represented today by a single marine genus. The group was a little bit more diversified in the Mesozoic, with representatives in marine and continental environments in the Late Cretaceous. Here we describe isolated skull bones of the last know freshwater coelacanths found in several fossil sites from the Early Campanian to the Early Maastrichtian of Southern France (in the Departments of Aude, Bouches-du-Rhône, Hérault, and Var). The sample does not allow distinguishing different species, and all material is referred to Axelrodichthys megadromos Cavin, Valentin, Garcia originally described from the locality of Ventabren in Southern France. A reconstruction of the skull is proposed. Previously unrecognized features are described, including parts of the postparietal portion of the skull, of the suspensorium and of the mandible. The new data confirm the assignation of the species to the mawsoniids, and more specifically to Axelrodichthys. A cladistic analysis scoring new character states provides a similar topology than a previous analysis, i.e. A. megadromos is placed in a polytomy with Axelrodichthys araripensis and Lualabaea lerichei, two species from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil and from the Late Jurassic of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, respectively. A. megadromos appears to have been restricted to freshwater environments, to the contrary of oldest Western Gondwanan representatives of the family that were able to live in brackish and marine waters. A. megadromos is the last representative of the mawsoniids and its occurrence in Europe is probably the result of a dispersal event from Western Gondwana that happened somewhen in the Cretaceous. Based on the available data, the mawsoniids went extinct in the mid-Maastrichthian, i.e. before the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. But it is possible that the fossil record of this family, which has been only recently recognized in Late Cretaceous European deposits, will geographically and stratigraphically widen with further discoveries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lionel Cavin
- Department of Geology and Palaeontology, Natural History Muesum, Geneva, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
| | - Eric Buffetaut
- Laboratoire de Géologie de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS (UMR 8538), PSL Research University, Paris, France
- Palaeontological Research and Education Centre, Mahasarakham University, Kantarawichai, Maha Sarakham, Thailand
| | - Yves Dutour
- Aix-en-Provence, Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Géraldine Garcia
- Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Evolution, Paléoécosystèmes et Paléoprimatologie, UMR CNRS 7262 Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
| | | | | | | | - Haiyan Tong
- Palaeontological Research and Education Centre, Mahasarakham University, Kantarawichai, Maha Sarakham, Thailand
| | - Thierry Tortosa
- Département des Bouches-du-Rhône, Hôtel du Département, Réserve Naturelle de Sainte-Victoire, Marseille, France
| | - Eric Turini
- Aix-en-Provence, Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Xavier Valentin
- Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Evolution, Paléoécosystèmes et Paléoprimatologie, UMR CNRS 7262 Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
- Palaios, Morthemer Valdivienne, France
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Abstract
With approximately 1,500 extant species, freshwater crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura) are among the most diverse decapod crustaceans. Nevertheless, their fossil record is extremely limited: only Potamidae, Potamonautidae and Trichodactylidae are reported up to the Eocene of the Neotropics so far. This work documents unusually large decapod claws from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) continental deposits of Velaux and vicinity (southern France), in close association with large vertebrate remains. In addition to (1) the systematic assignment of these claws, the study addresses (2) the salinity trends in the deposit environment from its faunal assemblage and the elementary chemical patterns of fossils, and (3) the likely scenario for their auto/allochthony in the Velaux fluvial system. These claws belong to a new taxon, Dinocarcinus velauciensis n. gen. n. sp., referred to as Portunoidea sensu lato, a group of “true” crabs nowadays linked to marine systems. However, the faunal assemblage, the claw taphonomy and the carbonates Y/Ho signatures support their ancient freshwater/terrestrial ecology, making them the oldest reported continental brachyurans and extending the presence of crabs in freshwater environments by 40 Ma. Either as primary or as secondary freshwater crabs, the occurrence of these portunoids in Velaux is an evidence for the independent colonizations of continental environments by multiple brachyuran clades over time, as early as the Campanian.
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Blanco A, Puértolas-Pascual E, Marmi J, Moncunill-Solé B, Llácer S, Rössner GE. Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) crocodyliforms from north-eastern Iberia: a first attempt to explain the crocodyliform diversity based on tooth qualitative traits. Zool J Linn Soc 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
During recent years, knowledge about crocodyliform diversity of the uppermost Cretaceous from Europe has been substantially improved. Palaeontological efforts have also been focused on microvertebrate diversity and its palaeoecological implications. Isolated crocodylomorph teeth are, by far, one of the most frequently recovered elements in microvertebrate samples. In the present paper, morphological features of crocodylomorph teeth collected throughout the complete Maastrichtian series of the southern Pyrenean basin (north-eastern Spain), together with several mandibular remains, are described and analysed. Teeth were grouped in morphotypes and their taxonomic significance is discussed. The results highlight a diverse crocodylomorph assemblage in this area throughout the Maastrichtian. In addition, feeding habits and environmental preferences are inferred for the identified taxa according to dental features, occurrences and taphonomy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Blanco
- Centro de Investigacións Científicas Avanzadas (CICA), Facultade de Ciencias, Universidade da Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
- SNSB – Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, Munich, Germany
| | - Eduardo Puértolas-Pascual
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia-GeoBioTec, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Monte de Caparica, Portugal
- Grupo Aragosaurus–IUCA, Área de Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Zaragoza, Pedro Cerbuna, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Josep Marmi
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Escola Industrial, Sabadell, Spain
| | - Blanca Moncunill-Solé
- Centro de Investigacións Científicas Avanzadas (CICA), Facultade de Ciencias, Universidade da Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
- Dipartimento di Scienze, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Largo S. L. Murialdo, Rome, Italy
| | - Sergio Llácer
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Escola Industrial, Sabadell, Spain
| | - Gertrud E Rössner
- SNSB – Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, Munich, Germany
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Narváez I, Brochu CA, De Celis A, Codrea V, Escaso F, Pérez-García A, Ortega F. New diagnosis for Allodaposuchus precedens, the type species of the European Upper Cretaceous clade Allodaposuchidae. Zool J Linn Soc 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Allodaposuchus precedens is a basal member of Eusuchia, which was established almost a century ago on a set of cranial and postcranial fragmentary remains from the lower Maastrichtian of Vălioara, Romania. It was the first described member and type species of Allodaposuchidae, a recently described European clade representing one of the nearest outgroups to Crocodylia. Although our understanding of the group has expanded in recent years through the description of new forms, a review of Al. precedens is needed. The detailed revision of the classical material from Vălioara, including cranial and postcranial remains, and a comparison with the nearly complete skull from the Romanian synchronous locality of Oarda de Jos, allows us to emend the diagnosis for Al. precedens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iván Narváez
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, UNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Christopher A Brochu
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Ane De Celis
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, UNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Vlad Codrea
- Department of Geology, Faculty of Biology-Geology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Fernando Escaso
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, UNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Adán Pérez-García
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, UNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Ortega
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, UNED, Madrid, Spain
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Mateus O, Puértolas-Pascual E, Callapez PM. A new eusuchian crocodylomorph from the Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) of Portugal reveals novel implications on the origin of Crocodylia. Zool J Linn Soc 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zly064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Octávio Mateus
- Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia- GeoBioTec, Monte de Caparica, Portugal
- Museu da Lourinhã, Rua João Luis de Moura, Lourinhã, Portugal
| | - Eduardo Puértolas-Pascual
- Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia- GeoBioTec, Monte de Caparica, Portugal
- Museu da Lourinhã, Rua João Luis de Moura, Lourinhã, Portugal
- Aragosaurus-IUCA Research group, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Pedro M Callapez
- CGUC – Centro de Geofísica/Dep. Ciências da Terra, FCTUC, Univ.Coimbra, Largo Marquês de Pombal, Coimbra, Portugal
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Kuzmin IT, Skutschas PP, Boitsova EA, Sues HD. Revision of the large crocodyliformKansajsuchus(Neosuchia) from the Late Cretaceous of Central Asia. Zool J Linn Soc 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zly027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ivan T Kuzmin
- Vertebrate Zoology Department, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Pavel P Skutschas
- Vertebrate Zoology Department, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Elizaveta A Boitsova
- Vertebrate Zoology Department, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Hans-Dieter Sues
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
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Godefroit P, Garcia G, Gomez B, Stein K, Cincotta A, Lefèvre U, Valentin X. Extreme tooth enlargement in a new Late Cretaceous rhabdodontid dinosaur from Southern France. Sci Rep 2017; 7:13098. [PMID: 29074952 PMCID: PMC5658417 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13160-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2017] [Accepted: 09/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhabdodontidae is a successful clade of ornithopod dinosaurs, characteristic of Late Cretaceous continental faunas in Europe. A new rhabdodontid from the late Campanian, of southern France, Matheronodon provincialis gen. et sp. nov., is characterized by the extreme enlargement of both its maxillary and dentary teeth, correlated to a drastic reduction in the number of maxillary teeth (4 per generation in MMS/VBN-02-102). The interalveolar septa on the maxilla are alternately present or resorbed ventrally so as to be able to lodge such enlarged teeth. The rhabdodontid dentition and masticatory apparatus were adapted for producing a strict and powerful shearing action, resembling a pair of scissors. With their relatively simple dentition, contrasting with the sophisticated dental batteries in contemporary hadrosaurids, Matheronodon and other rhabdodontids are tentatively interpreted as specialized consumers of tough plant parts rich in sclerenchyma fibers, such as Sabalites and Pandanites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Godefroit
- Directorate 'Earth and History of Life', Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 1000, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Géraldine Garcia
- Université de Poitiers, IPHEP, UMR CNRS 7262, 86073, Poitiers, France
| | - Bernard Gomez
- Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon: Terre, Planète, Environnement, UMR CNRS 5276, 69622, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Koen Stein
- Chemistry Department: Analytical, Environmental and Geo-chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Aude Cincotta
- Directorate 'Earth and History of Life', Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 1000, Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Geology, University of Namur, 5000, Namur, Belgium
| | - Ulysse Lefèvre
- Directorate 'Earth and History of Life', Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 1000, Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Geology, Liège University, 4000, Liège, Belgium
| | - Xavier Valentin
- Université de Poitiers, IPHEP, UMR CNRS 7262, 86073, Poitiers, France.,Palaios Association, 86300, Valdivienne, France
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