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Régent V, Wiersma-Weyand K, Wings O, Knötschke N, Sander PM. The dentition of the Late Jurassic dwarf sauropod Europasaurus holgeri from northern Germany: ontogeny, function, and implications for a rhamphotheca-like structure in Sauropoda. PeerJ 2024; 12:e17764. [PMID: 39157772 PMCID: PMC11328839 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17764] [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: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 08/20/2024] Open
Abstract
The basal macronarian sauropod Europasaurus holgeri is known only from the Late Jurassic of the Langenberg Quarry near Goslar, Lower Saxony, Germany. Europasaurus has been identified as an insular dwarf and shows a clear resemblance to Camarasaurus and Giraffatitan. This study provides a detailed description of the dentition of Europasaurus based on an array of fossils outstanding in their abundance, variety of preservation, and ontogenetic range. Dental morphology for the replacement and functional dentitions, the tooth replacement pattern, and implications for food intake are described for the Europasaurus dentition, which is characterized by broad-crowned teeth. Characteristic features for Europasaurus are the presence of denticles on replacement teeth, the wrinkled enamel, and large wear facets both on the apex and on the carinae of the tooth crowns. The partially articulated skull SNHM-2207-R and isolated tooth rows DfmMh/FV 580.1 and DfmMh/FV 896.7 suggest the presence of strong connective tissue partially covering the teeth. This connective tissue would have provided stability and protection for the teeth. Evidence for this connective tissue include exposed tooth necks, in-situ teeth with strongly resorbed roots which no longer would have been connected to the jaw bone, and wrinkled enamel and its surface pattern. The same features can be observed in other sauropod taxa as well. We therefore suggest that eusauropods in general possessed this connective tissue structure, which may be an autapomorphy of the group. Possibly, this hypothetical structure is homologous to the rhamphotheca in birds and some non-avian theropods, which, however rarely, show such a close integration of keratinous tissue and teeth that we hypothesize here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena Régent
- Abteilung Paläontologie, Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Oliver Wings
- Zentralmagazin Naturwissenschaftlicher Sammlungen, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
- Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Naturkundemuseum Bamberg, Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany
| | - Nils Knötschke
- Dinosaurier-Freilichtmuseum Münchehagen, Rehburg-Loccum, Germany
| | - P. Martin Sander
- Abteilung Paläontologie, Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- The Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
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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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Martin T, Averianov AO, Schultz JA, Schwermann AH, Wings O. A derived dryolestid mammal indicates possible insular endemism in the Late Jurassic of Germany. THE SCIENCE OF NATURE - NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 2021; 108:23. [PMID: 33993371 PMCID: PMC8126546 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-021-01719-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2020] [Revised: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The Langenberg Quarry near Bad Harzburg has yielded the first Jurassic stem therian mammal of Germany, recovered from Kimmeridgian (Late Jurassic) near shore deposits of a palaeo-island within the Lower Saxony Basin of the European archipelago. The new stem therian is represented by one lower and three upper molars. Hercynodon germanicus gen. et sp. nov. is attributed to the Dryolestidae, a group of pretribosphenic crown mammals that was common in western Laurasia from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. The new taxon is characterised by small size, a reduced cusp pattern in the upper molars lacking a metacone, and enhancement of the shearing crests paracrista and metacrista. Phylogenetic analysis identified Hercynodon gen. nov. as sister taxon of Crusafontia from the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) of Spain. Both taxa belong to an endemic European clade of dryolestids, including also Achyrodon and Phascolestes from the earliest Cretaceous (Berriasian) of England. Despite its greater geological age, Hercynodon gen. nov. is the most derived representative of that clade, indicated by the complete reduction of the metacone. The discrepancy between derived morphology and geological age may be explained by an increased rate of character evolution in insular isolation. Other insular phenomena have earlier been observed in vertebrates from the Langenberg Quarry, such as dwarfism in the small sauropod Europasaurus, and possible gigantism in the morganucodontan mammaliaform Storchodon and the pinheirodontid multituberculate mammal Teutonodon which grew unusually large.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Martin
- Section Palaeontology, Institute of Geosciences, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
| | - Alexander O Averianov
- Department of Theriology, Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Julia A Schultz
- Section Palaeontology, Institute of Geosciences, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Achim H Schwermann
- LWL-Museum für Naturkunde, Westfälisches Landesmuseum mit Planetarium, Münster, Germany
| | - Oliver Wings
- Natural Sciences Collections, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
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Griffin CT, Stocker MR, Colleary C, Stefanic CM, Lessner EJ, Riegler M, Formoso K, Koeller K, Nesbitt SJ. Assessing ontogenetic maturity in extinct saurian reptiles. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 96:470-525. [PMID: 33289322 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Revised: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Morphology forms the most fundamental level of data in vertebrate palaeontology because it is through interpretations of morphology that taxa are identified, creating the basis for broad evolutionary and palaeobiological hypotheses. Assessing maturity is one of the most basic aspects of morphological interpretation and provides the means to study the evolution of ontogenetic changes, population structure and palaeoecology, life-history strategies, and heterochrony along evolutionary lineages that would otherwise be lost to time. Saurian reptiles (the least-inclusive clade containing Lepidosauria and Archosauria) have remained an incredibly diverse, numerous, and disparate clade through their ~260-million-year history. Because of the great disparity in this group, assessing maturity of saurian reptiles is difficult, fraught with methodological and terminological ambiguity. We compiled a novel database of literature, assembling >900 individual instances of saurian maturity assessment, to examine critically how saurian maturity has been diagnosed. We review the often inexact and inconsistent terminology used in saurian maturity assessment (e.g. 'juvenile', 'mature') and provide routes for better clarity and cross-study coherence. We describe the various methods that have been used to assess maturity in every major saurian group, integrating data from both extant and extinct taxa to give a full account of the current state of the field and providing method-specific pitfalls, best practices, and fruitful directions for future research. We recommend that a new standard subsection, 'Ontogenetic Assessment', be added to the Systematic Palaeontology portions of descriptive studies to provide explicit ontogenetic diagnoses with clear criteria. Because the utility of different ontogenetic criteria is highly subclade dependent among saurians, even for widely used methods (e.g. neurocentral suture fusion), we recommend that phylogenetic context, preferably in the form of a phylogenetic bracket, be used to justify the use of a maturity assessment method. Different methods should be used in conjunction as independent lines of evidence when assessing maturity, instead of an ontogenetic diagnosis resting entirely on a single criterion, which is common in the literature. Critically, there is a need for data from extant taxa with well-represented growth series to be integrated with the fossil record to ground maturity assessments of extinct taxa in well-constrained, empirically tested methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher T Griffin
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
| | - Michelle R Stocker
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
| | - Caitlin Colleary
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 1 Wade Oval Drive, Cleveland, OH, 44106, U.S.A
| | - Candice M Stefanic
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, U.S.A
| | - Emily J Lessner
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Missouri, 1 Hospital Drive, Columbia, MO, 65212, U.S.A
| | - Mitchell Riegler
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, 241 Williamson Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611, U.S.A
| | - Kiersten Formoso
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, 3651 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, U.S.A
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 W Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90007, U.S.A
| | - Krista Koeller
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, 220 Bartram Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611, U.S.A
| | - Sterling J Nesbitt
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
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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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Evers SW, Wings O. Late Jurassic theropod dinosaur bones from the Langenberg Quarry (Lower Saxony, Germany) provide evidence for several theropod lineages in the central European archipelago. PeerJ 2020; 8:e8437. [PMID: 32071804 PMCID: PMC7007975 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Marine limestones and marls in the Langenberg Quarry provide unique insights into a Late Jurassic island ecosystem in central Europe. The beds yield a varied assemblage of terrestrial vertebrates including extremely rare bones of theropod from theropod dinosaurs, which we describe here for the first time. All of the theropod bones belong to relatively small individuals but represent a wide taxonomic range. The material comprises an allosauroid small pedal ungual and pedal phalanx, a ceratosaurian anterior chevron, a left fibula of a megalosauroid, and a distal caudal vertebra of a tetanuran. Additionally, a small pedal phalanx III-1 and the proximal part of a small right fibula can be assigned to indeterminate theropods. The ontogenetic stages of the material are currently unknown, although the assignment of some of the bones to juvenile individuals is plausible. The finds confirm the presence of several taxa of theropod dinosaurs in the archipelago and add to our growing understanding of theropod diversity and evolution during the Late Jurassic of Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serjoscha W Evers
- Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Oliver Wings
- Zentralmagazin Naturwissenschaftlicher Sammlungen, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
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Guillaume ARD, Moreno-Azanza M, Puértolas-Pascual E, Mateus O. Palaeobiodiversity of crocodylomorphs from the Lourinhã Formation based on the tooth record: insights into the palaeoecology of the Late Jurassic of Portugal. Zool J Linn Soc 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Crocodylomorphs were a diverse clade in the Late Jurassic of Portugal, with six taxa reported to date. Here we describe 126 isolated teeth recovered by screen-washing of sediments from Valmitão (Lourinhã, Portugal, late Kimmeridgian–Tithonian), a vertebrate microfossil assemblage in which at least five distinct crocodylomorph taxa are represented. Ten morphotypes are described and attributed to five clades (Lusitanisuchus, Atoposauridae, Goniopholididae, Bernissartiidae and an undetermined mesoeucrocodylian). Four different ecomorphotypes are here proposed according to ecological niches and feeding behaviours: these correspond to a diet based on arthropods and small vertebrates (Lusitanisuchus and Atoposauridae), a generalist diet (Goniopholididae), a durophagous diet (Bernissartiidae) and a carnivorous diet. Lusitanisuchus mitracostatus material from Guimarota is here redescribed to achieve a better illustration and comparison with the new material.
This assemblage shares similar ecomorphotypes with other Mesozoic west-central European localities, where a diversity of crocodylomorphs lived together, avoiding direct ecological competition through niche partitioning. The absence of large marine crocodylomorphs, present in other contemporaneous assemblages, is here interpreted as evidence that the Valmitão assemblage was deposited in a freshwater environment, although sample bias cannot be completely ruled out. These affinities are further supported by the presence of lanceolate and leaf-shaped teeth associated with continental clades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre R D Guillaume
- GeoBioTec, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Caparica, Portugal
- Museu da Lourinhã, Lourinhã. Portugal
| | - Miguel Moreno-Azanza
- GeoBioTec, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Caparica, Portugal
- Museu da Lourinhã, Lourinhã. Portugal
| | - Eduardo Puértolas-Pascual
- GeoBioTec, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Caparica, Portugal
- Museu da Lourinhã, Lourinhã. Portugal
| | - Octávio Mateus
- GeoBioTec, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Caparica, Portugal
- Museu da Lourinhã, Lourinhã. Portugal
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Puértolas-Pascual E, Mateus O. A three-dimensional skeleton of Goniopholididae from the Late Jurassic of Portugal: implications for the Crocodylomorpha bracing system. Zool J Linn Soc 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
AbstractWe here describe an articulated partial skeleton of a small neosuchian crocodylomorph from the Lourinhã Formation (Late Jurassic, Portugal). The skeleton corresponds to the posterior region of the trunk and consists of dorsal, ventral and limb osteoderms, dorsal vertebrae, thoracic ribs and part of the left hindlimb. The paravertebral armour is composed of two rows of paired osteoderms with the lateral margins ventrally deflected and an anterior process for a ‘peg and groove’ articulation. We also compare its dermal armour with that of several Jurassic and Cretaceous neosuchian crocodylomorphs, establishing a detailed description of this type of osteoderms.These features are present in crocodylomorphs with a closed paravertebral armour bracing system. The exceptional 3D conservation of the specimen, and the performance of a micro-CT scan, allowed us to interpret the bracing system of this organism to assess if previous models were accurate. The characters observed in this specimen are congruent with Goniopholididae, a clade of large neosuchians abundant in most semi-aquatic ecosystems from the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Laurasia. However, its small size, contrasted with the sizes observed in goniopholidids, left indeterminate whether it could have been a dwarf or juvenile individual. Future histological analyses could shed light on this.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Puértolas-Pascual
- Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia-GeoBioTec, Monte de Caparica, Portugal
- Museu da Lourinhã, Lourinhã, Portugal
- Aragosaurus-IUCA Research group, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - O Mateus
- Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia-GeoBioTec, Monte de Caparica, Portugal
- Museu da Lourinhã, Lourinhã, Portugal
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Souza RG, Figueiredo RG, Azevedo SAK, Riff D, Kellner AWA. Systematic revision of Sarcosuchus hartti (Crocodyliformes) from the Recôncavo Basin (Early Cretaceous) of Bahia, north-eastern Brazil. Zool J Linn Soc 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
AbstractSarcosuchus hartii was a top predator that inhabited the fluvial and coastal areas of north-eastern Brazil during the Early Cretaceous. Several fossil remains were recovered during the late 19th and early 20th centuries from strata that outcrop in the Recôncavo Basin in the state of Bahia. A re-analysis of this material shows that S. hartii is a valid species. The Brazilian taxon differs from the African Sarcosuchus imperator in the unique pattern of anastomosing ornamentation observed on the enamel surface. The inclusion of S. hartii in a novel phylogenetic analysis recovered it inside Tethysuchia, a large clade comprising South and North American pholidosaurids along Elosuchidae and Dyrosauridae. The evolutionary origin of Sarcosuchus is likely related to a cladogenesis event that resulted from the break-up of Gondwana.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael G Souza
- Laboratório de Sistemática e Tafonomia de Vertebrados Fósseis, Setor de Paleovertebrados, Departamento de Geologia e Paleontologia, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Quinta da Boa Vista s/n, São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo G Figueiredo
- Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Alto Universitário s/n, Guararema, Alegre, ES, Brazil
| | - Sérgio A K Azevedo
- Laboratório de Processamento de Imagem Digital, Setor de Paleovertebrados, Departamento de Geologia e Paleontologia, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Quinta da Boa Vista s/n, São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Douglas Riff
- Laboratório de Paleontologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Rua Ceará s/n, Umuarama, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil
| | - Alexander W A Kellner
- Laboratório de Sistemática e Tafonomia de Vertebrados Fósseis, Setor de Paleovertebrados, Departamento de Geologia e Paleontologia, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Quinta da Boa Vista s/n, São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
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De Celis A, Narváez I, Ortega F. Spatiotemporal palaeodiversity patterns of modern crocodiles (Crocodyliformes: Eusuchia). Zool J Linn Soc 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Eusuchia is a crocodyliform clade with a rich and diverse fossil record dating back to the Mesozoic. There are several recent studies that analyse crocodyliform palaeodiversity over time, but none of them focuses exclusively on eusuchians. Thus, we estimated subsampled eusuchian palaeodiversity species dynamics over time not only at a global scale, but also by continents and main crocodylian lineages (Alligatoroidea, Crocodyloidea and Gavialoidea). These estimates reveal complex spatiotemporal palaeodiversity patterns, in which two maxima can be detected: the first during the Palaeocene and the second, which is also the biggest, in the middle-late Miocene. The Palaeocene shift is related to a North American alligatoroid diversification, whereas the middle–late Miocene maximum is related to a diversification of the three main Crocodylia lineages in Gondwanan land masses, but especially in South America. Additionally, a model-based study using generalized least squares was carried out to analyse the relationships between different abiotic and sampling proxies and eusuchian palaeodiversity. The results show that palaeotemperature is the most important factor amongst the analysed proxies, in accordance with previous studies. However, the results suggest that, along with palaeotemperature, other abiotic and/or biotic factors might also be driving eusuchian palaeodiversity dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ane De Celis
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, Spain
| | - Iván Narváez
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Ortega
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, Spain
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11
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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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