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Chiarenza AA, Cantalapiedra JL, Jones LA, Gamboa S, Galván S, Farnsworth AJ, Valdes PJ, Sotelo G, Varela S. Early Jurassic origin of avian endothermy and thermophysiological diversity in dinosaurs. Curr Biol 2024; 34:2517-2527.e4. [PMID: 38754424 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.04.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2024] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
A fundamental question in dinosaur evolution is how they adapted to long-term climatic shifts during the Mesozoic and when they developed environmentally independent, avian-style acclimatization, becoming endothermic.1,2 The ability of warm-blooded dinosaurs to flourish in harsher environments, including cold, high-latitude regions,3,4 raises intriguing questions about the origins of key innovations shared with modern birds,5,6 indicating that the development of homeothermy (keeping constant body temperature) and endothermy (generating body heat) played a crucial role in their ecological diversification.7 Despite substantial evidence across scientific disciplines (anatomy,8 reproduction,9 energetics,10 biomechanics,10 osteohistology,11 palaeobiogeography,12 geochemistry,13,14 and soft tissues15,16,17), a consensus on dinosaur thermophysiology remains elusive.1,12,15,17,18,19 Differential thermophysiological strategies among terrestrial tetrapods allow endotherms (birds and mammals) to expand their latitudinal range (from the tropics to polar regions), owing to their reduced reliance on environmental temperature.20 By contrast, most reptilian lineages (squamates, turtles, and crocodilians) and amphibians are predominantly constrained by temperature in regions closer to the tropics.21 Determining when this macroecological pattern emerged in the avian lineage relies heavily on identifying the origin of these key physiological traits. Combining fossils with macroevolutionary and palaeoclimatic models, we unveil distinct evolutionary pathways in the main dinosaur lineages: ornithischians and theropods diversified across broader climatic landscapes, trending toward cooler niches. An Early Jurassic shift to colder climates in Theropoda suggests an early adoption of endothermy. Conversely, sauropodomorphs exhibited prolonged climatic conservatism associated with higher thermal conditions, emphasizing temperature, rather than plant productivity, as the primary driver of this pattern, suggesting poikilothermy with a stronger dependence on higher temperatures in sauropods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310 Vigo, Spain; Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Place, London WC1E 6BS, UK.
| | - Juan L Cantalapiedra
- Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain; GloCEE Global Change Ecology and Evolution Research Group, Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad de Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Spain; Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invdralidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Lewis A Jones
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310 Vigo, Spain
| | - Sara Gamboa
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310 Vigo, Spain; Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Av. Séneca 2, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Sofía Galván
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310 Vigo, Spain
| | - Alexander J Farnsworth
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road, Bristol BS8 1SS, UK; State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Paul J Valdes
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road, Bristol BS8 1SS, UK; State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Graciela Sotelo
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310 Vigo, Spain
| | - Sara Varela
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310 Vigo, Spain
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Tagliavento M, Davies AJ, Bernecker M, Staudigel PT, Dawson RR, Dietzel M, Götschl K, Guo W, Schulp AS, Therrien F, Zelenitsky DK, Gerdes A, Müller W, Fiebig J. Evidence for heterothermic endothermy and reptile-like eggshell mineralization in Troodon, a non-avian maniraptoran theropod. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2213987120. [PMID: 37011196 PMCID: PMC10104568 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2213987120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The dinosaur-bird transition involved several anatomical, biomechanical, and physiological modifications of the theropod bauplan. Non-avian maniraptoran theropods, such as Troodon, are key to better understand changes in thermophysiology and reproduction occurring during this transition. Here, we applied dual clumped isotope (Δ47 and Δ48) thermometry, a technique that resolves mineralization temperature and other nonthermal information recorded in carbonates, to eggshells from Troodon, modern reptiles, and modern birds. Troodon eggshells show variable temperatures, namely 42 and 29 ± 2 °C, supporting the hypothesis of an endothermic thermophysiology with a heterothermic strategy for this extinct taxon. Dual clumped isotope data also reveal physiological differences in the reproductive systems between Troodon, reptiles, and birds. Troodon and modern reptiles mineralize their eggshells indistinguishable from dual clumped isotope equilibrium, while birds precipitate eggshells characterized by a positive disequilibrium offset in Δ48. Analyses of inorganic calcites suggest that the observed disequilibrium pattern in birds is linked to an amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) precursor, a carbonate phase known to accelerate eggshell formation in birds. Lack of disequilibrium patterns in reptile and Troodon eggshells implies these vertebrates had not acquired the fast, ACC-based eggshell calcification process characteristic of birds. Observation that Troodon retained a slow reptile-like calcification suggests that it possessed two functional ovaries and was limited in the number of eggs it could produce; thus its large clutches would have been laid by several females. Dual clumped isotope analysis of eggshells of extinct vertebrates sheds light on physiological information otherwise inaccessible in the fossil record.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattia Tagliavento
- Institute of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main60438, Germany
| | - Amelia J. Davies
- Institute of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main60438, Germany
| | - Miguel Bernecker
- Institute of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main60438, Germany
| | - Philip T. Staudigel
- Institute of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main60438, Germany
| | - Robin R. Dawson
- Department of Earth, Geographic and Climate Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA01003
| | - Martin Dietzel
- Institute of Applied Geosciences, Graz University of Technology,8010Graz, Austria
| | - Katja Götschl
- Institute of Applied Geosciences, Graz University of Technology,8010Graz, Austria
| | - Weifu Guo
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA02543
| | - Anne S. Schulp
- Vertebrate Evolution and Development, Naturalis Biodiversity Center,2333CRLeiden, the Netherlands
- Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Geosciences, Universiteit Utrecht,3584 CBUtrecht, the Netherlands
| | | | | | - Axel Gerdes
- Institute of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main60438, Germany
- Frankfurt Isotope and Element Research Center, Institute of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main60438, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Müller
- Institute of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main60438, Germany
- Frankfurt Isotope and Element Research Center, Institute of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main60438, Germany
| | - Jens Fiebig
- Institute of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main60438, Germany
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Chiarenza AA, Mannion PD, Farnsworth A, Carrano MT, Varela S. Climatic constraints on the biogeographic history of Mesozoic dinosaurs. Curr Biol 2021; 32:570-585.e3. [PMID: 34921764 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.11.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Dinosaurs dominated Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystems globally. However, whereas a pole-to-pole geographic distribution characterized ornithischians and theropods, sauropods were restricted to lower latitudes. Here, we evaluate the role of climate in shaping these biogeographic patterns through the Jurassic-Cretaceous (201-66 mya), combining dinosaur fossil occurrences, past climate data from Earth System models, and habitat suitability modeling. Results show that, uniquely among dinosaurs, sauropods occupied climatic niches characterized by high temperatures and strongly bounded by minimum cold temperatures. This constrained the distribution and dispersal pathways of sauropods to tropical areas, excluding them from latitudinal extremes, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. The greater availability of suitable habitat in the southern continents, particularly in the Late Cretaceous, might be key to explaining the high diversity of sauropods there, relative to northern landmasses. Given that ornithischians and theropods show a flattened or bimodal latitudinal biodiversity gradient, with peaks at higher latitudes, the closer correspondence of sauropods to a subtropical concentration could hint at fundamental thermophysiological differences to the other two clades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza
- Grupo de Ecología Animal, Centro de Investigacion Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, Vigo 36310, Spain; Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BP, UK; Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Philip D Mannion
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Alex Farnsworth
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road, Bristol BS8 1RL, UK; State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Matthew T Carrano
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 121, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA.
| | - Sara Varela
- Grupo de Ecología Animal, Centro de Investigacion Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, Vigo 36310, Spain
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Quantitative Biofacies Analysis to Identify Relationships and Refine Controls on Paleosol Development, Prince Creek Formation, North Slope Alaska, USA. GEOSCIENCES 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/geosciences11110460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Late Cretaceous coastal plain deposits of the Prince Creek Formation (PCF) offer a rare glimpse into an ancient, high-latitude, arctic greenhouse ecosystem for which there is no modern analog. Here, we employ quantitative biofacies analysis to explore the spatio-temporal variability in PCF palynomorph and microbiota assemblages from nine paleosol horizons exposed along the Colville River, North Slope, Alaska. Biofacies results provide insight into paleoenvironmental controls on the coastal plain ecosystem. Cluster and ordination analyses recognize five biofacies and the following two assemblage types: (1) fern and moss dominated assemblages and (2) algae dominated assemblages. Ordination arrays biofacies along environmental gradients related to soil moisture and marine influence. Fern and moss dominated biofacies from regularly water-logged paleosols along lake and swamp margins on the lower delta plain clearly segregated from algae dominated assemblages of periodically drier levee-overbank paleosols. These results support previous interpretations from the sedimentology, paleopedology, and geochemistry of PCF paleosols that suggest that fluctuations in the water table, related to seasonal river discharge and variations in topography and drainage, controlled soil development and vegetation growth across the coastal plain. This quantitative biofacies-based approach provides an independent predictive tool and cross-check for interpreting environmental conditions along any ancient coastal ecosystem.
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Druckenmiller PS, Erickson GM, Brinkman D, Brown CM, Eberle JJ. Nesting at extreme polar latitudes by non-avian dinosaurs. Curr Biol 2021; 31:3469-3478.e5. [PMID: 34171301 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The unexpected discovery of non-avian dinosaurs from Arctic and Antarctic settings has generated considerable debate about whether they had the capacity to reproduce at high latitudes-especially the larger-bodied, hypothetically migratory taxa. Evidence for dinosaurian polar reproduction remains very rare, particularly for species that lived at the highest paleolatitudes (>75°). Here we report the discovery of perinatal and very young dinosaurs from the highest known paleolatitude for the clade-the Cretaceous Prince Creek Formation (PCF) of northern Alaska. These data demonstrate Arctic reproduction in a diverse assemblage of large- and small-bodied ornithischian and theropod species. In terms of overall diversity, 70% of the known dinosaurian families, as well as avialans (birds), in the PCF are represented by perinatal individuals, the highest percentage for any North American Cretaceous formation. These findings, coupled with prolonged incubation periods, small neonate sizes, and short reproductive windows suggest most, if not all, PCF dinosaurs were nonmigratory year-round Arctic residents. Notably, we reconstruct an annual chronology of reproductive events for the ornithischian dinosaurs using refined paleoenvironmental/plant phenology data and new insights into dinosaur incubation periods. Seasonal resource limitations due to extended periods of winter darkness and freezing temperatures placed severe constraints on dinosaurian reproduction, development, and maintenance, suggesting these taxa showed polar-specific life history strategies, including endothermy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick S Druckenmiller
- University of Alaska Museum, 1962 Yukon Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA; Department of Geosciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA.
| | - Gregory M Erickson
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, 319 Stadium Drive, FL 32306, USA
| | - Donald Brinkman
- Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Drumheller, AB T0J 0Y0, Canada
| | - Caleb M Brown
- Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Drumheller, AB T0J 0Y0, Canada
| | - Jaelyn J Eberle
- Univerity of Colorado Museum of Natural History, 265 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA; Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
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