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Butrim MJ, Royer DL, Miller IM, Dechesne M, Neu-Yagle N, Lyson TR, Johnson KR, Barclay RS. No Consistent Shift in Leaf Dry Mass per Area Across the Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:894690. [PMID: 35783978 PMCID: PMC9244629 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.894690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The Chicxulub bolide impact has been linked to a mass extinction of plants at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary (KPB; ∼66 Ma), but how this extinction affected plant ecological strategies remains understudied. Previous work in the Williston Basin, North Dakota, indicates that plants pursuing strategies with a slow return-on-investment of nutrients abruptly vanished after the KPB, consistent with a hypothesis of selection against evergreen species during the globally cold and dark impact winter that followed the bolide impact. To test whether this was a widespread pattern we studied 1,303 fossil leaves from KPB-spanning sediments in the Denver Basin, Colorado. We used the relationship between petiole width and leaf mass to estimate leaf dry mass per area (LMA), a leaf functional trait negatively correlated with rate of return-on-investment. We found no evidence for a shift in this leaf-economic trait across the KPB: LMA remained consistent in both its median and overall distribution from approximately 67 to 65 Ma. However, we did find spatio-temporal patterns in LMA, where fossil localities with low LMA occurred more frequently near the western margin of the basin. These western margin localities are proximal to the Colorado Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, where an orographically driven high precipitation regime is thought to have developed during the early Paleocene. Among these western Denver Basin localities, LMA and estimated mean annual precipitation were inversely correlated, a pattern consistent with observations of both fossil and extant plants. In the Denver Basin, local environmental conditions over time appeared to play a larger role in determining viable leaf-economic strategies than any potential global signal associated with the Chicxulub bolide impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J. Butrim
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, United States
- Department of Geology and Geophysics and Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, United States
| | - Dana L. Royer
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, United States
| | - Ian M. Miller
- Department of Earth Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, CO, United States
| | | | - Nicole Neu-Yagle
- Department of Earth Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, CO, United States
| | - Tyler R. Lyson
- Department of Earth Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, CO, United States
| | - Kirk R. Johnson
- Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Richard S. Barclay
- Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, United States
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The Tetrapod Fossil Record from the Uppermost Maastrichtian of the Ibero-Armorican Island: An Integrative Review Based on the Outcrops of the Western Tremp Syncline (Aragón, Huesca Province, NE Spain). GEOSCIENCES 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/geosciences11040162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The South-Pyrenean Basin (northeastern Spain) has yielded a rich and diverse record of Upper Cretaceous (uppermost Campanian−uppermost Maastrichtian) vertebrate fossils, including the remains of some of the last European dinosaurs prior to the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction event. In this work, we update and characterize the vertebrate fossil record of the Arén Sandstone and Tremp formations in the Western Tremp Syncline, which is located in the Aragonese area of the Southern Pyrenees. The transitional and continental successions of these sedimentary units are dated to the late Maastrichtian, and exploration of their outcrops has led to the discovery of numerous fossil remains (bones, eggshells, and tracks) of dinosaurs, including hadrosauroids, sauropods, and theropods, along with other tetrapods such as crocodylomorphs, testudines, pterosaurs, squamates, and amphibians. In particular, this fossil record contains some of the youngest lambeosaurine hadrosaurids (Arenysaurus and Blasisaurus) and Mesozoic crocodylomorphs (Arenysuchus and Agaresuchus subjuniperus) in Europe, complementing the lower Maastrichtian fossil sites of the Eastern Tremp Syncline. In addition, faunal comparison with the fossil record of Hațeg island reveals the great change in the dinosaur assemblages resulting from the arrival of lambeosaurine hadrosaurids on the Ibero-Armorican island, whereas those on Haţeg remained stable. In the light of its paleontological richness, its stratigraphic continuity, and its calibration within the last few hundred thousand years of the Cretaceous, the Western Tremp Syncline is one of the best places in Europe to study the latest vertebrate assemblages of the European Archipelago before the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.
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Nicholson AC, Gulvik CA, Whitney AM, Humrighouse BW, Bell ME, Holmes B, Steigerwalt AG, Villarma A, Sheth M, Batra D, Rowe LA, Burroughs M, Pryor JC, Bernardet JF, Hugo C, Kämpfer P, Newman JD, McQuiston JR. Division of the genus Chryseobacterium: Observation of discontinuities in amino acid identity values, a possible consequence of major extinction events, guides transfer of nine species to the genus Epilithonimonas, eleven species to the genus Kaistella, and three species to the genus Halpernia gen. nov., with description of Kaistella daneshvariae sp. nov. and Epilithonimonas vandammei sp. nov. derived from clinical specimens. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2020; 70:4432-4450. [PMID: 32735208 PMCID: PMC7660247 DOI: 10.1099/ijsem.0.003935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Revised: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The genus Chryseobacterium in the family Weeksellaceae is known to be polyphyletic. Amino acid identity (AAI) values were calculated from whole-genome sequences of species of the genus Chryseobacterium, and their distribution was found to be multi-modal. These naturally-occurring non-continuities were leveraged to standardise genus assignment of these species. We speculate that this multi-modal distribution is a consequence of loss of biodiversity during major extinction events, leading to the concept that a bacterial genus corresponds to a set of species that diversified since the Permian extinction. Transfer of nine species (Chryseobacterium arachidiradicis, Chryseobacterium bovis, Chryseobacterium caeni, Chryseobacterium hispanicum, Chryseobacterium hominis, Chryseobacterium hungaricum,, Chryseobacterium pallidum and Chryseobacterium zeae) to the genus Epilithonimonas and eleven (Chryseobacterium anthropi, Chryseobacterium antarcticum, Chryseobacterium carnis, Chryseobacterium chaponense, Chryseobacterium haifense, Chryseobacterium jeonii, Chryseobacterium montanum, Chryseobacterium palustre, Chryseobacterium solincola, Chryseobacterium treverense and Chryseobacterium yonginense) to the genus Kaistella is proposed. Two novel species are described: Kaistella daneshvariae sp. nov. and Epilithonimonas vandammei sp. nov. Evidence is presented to support the assignment of Planobacterium taklimakanense to a genus apart from Chryseobacterium, to which Planobacterium salipaludis comb nov. also belongs. The novel genus Halpernia is proposed, to contain the type species Halpernia frigidisoli comb. nov., along with Halpernia humi comb. nov., and Halpernia marina comb. nov.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ainsley C. Nicholson
- Special Bacteriology Reference Laboratory, Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
| | - Christopher A. Gulvik
- Special Bacteriology Reference Laboratory, Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
| | - Anne M. Whitney
- Special Bacteriology Reference Laboratory, Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
| | - Ben W. Humrighouse
- Special Bacteriology Reference Laboratory, Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
| | - Melissa E. Bell
- Special Bacteriology Reference Laboratory, Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
| | - Barry Holmes
- National Collection of Type Cultures, Health Protection Agency, Colindale, London NW9 5EQ, UK
| | - Arnie G. Steigerwalt
- Special Bacteriology Reference Laboratory, Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
| | - Aaron Villarma
- Special Bacteriology Reference Laboratory, Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
| | - Mili Sheth
- Division of Scientific Resources, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
| | - Dhwani Batra
- Division of Scientific Resources, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
| | - Lori A. Rowe
- Division of Scientific Resources, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
| | - Mark Burroughs
- Division of Scientific Resources, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
| | - Jessica C. Pryor
- Special Bacteriology Reference Laboratory, Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
| | - Jean-François Bernardet
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Unité de Virologie et Immunologie Moléculaires, Domaine de Vilvert, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Celia Hugo
- Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Peter Kämpfer
- Institut für Angewandte Mikrobiologie, Universität Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Jeffrey D. Newman
- Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
- Biology Department, Lycoming College, Williamsport PA 17701, USA
| | - John R. McQuiston
- Special Bacteriology Reference Laboratory, Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
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Brownstein CD. New records of theropods from the latest Cretaceous of New Jersey and the Maastrichtian Appalachian fauna. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:191206. [PMID: 31827856 PMCID: PMC6894593 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.191206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 10/22/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The faunal changes that occurred in the few million years before the Cretaceous-Palaeogene extinction are of much interest to vertebrate palaeontologists. Western North America preserves arguably the best fossil record from this time, whereas terrestrial vertebrate fossils from the eastern portion of the continent are usually limited to isolated, eroded postcranial remains. Examination of fragmentary specimens from the American east, which was isolated for the majority of the Cretaceous as the landmass Appalachia, is nonetheless important for better understanding dinosaur diversity at the end of the Mesozoic. Here, I report on two theropod teeth from the Mount Laurel Formation, a lower-middle Maastrichtian unit from northeastern North America. One of these preserves in detail the structure of the outer enamel and resembles the dentition of the tyrannosauroid Dryptosaurus aquilunguis among latest Cretaceous forms in being heavily mediolaterally compressed and showing many moderately developed enamel crenulations. Along with previously reported tyrannosauroid material from the Mt Laurel and overlying Cretaceous units, this fossil supports the presence of non-tyrannosaurid tyrannosauroids in the Campanian-Maastrichtian of eastern North America and provides evidence for the hypothesis that the area was still home to relictual vertebrates through the end of the Mesozoic. The other tooth is assignable to a dromaeosaurid and represents both the youngest occurrence of a non-avian maniraptoran in eastern North America and the first from the Maastrichtian reported east of the Mississippi. This tooth, which belonged to a 3-4 m dromaeosaurid based on size comparisons with the teeth of taxa for which skeletons are known, increases the diversity of the Maastrichtian dinosaur fauna of Appalachia. Along with previously reported dromaeosaurid teeth, the Mt Laurel specimen supports the presence of mid-sized to large dromaeosaurids in eastern North America throughout the Cretaceous.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chase Doran Brownstein
- Department of Collections and Exhibitions, Stamford Museum and Nature Center, Stamford, CT, USA
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Abstract
Dinosaurs were large-bodied land animals of the Mesozoic that gave rise to birds. They played a fundamental role in structuring Jurassic–Cretaceous ecosystems and had physiology, growth, and reproductive biology unlike those of extant animals. These features have made them targets of theoretical macroecology. Dinosaurs achieved substantial structural diversity, and their fossil record documents the evolutionary assembly of the avian body plan. Phylogeny-based research has allowed new insights into dinosaur macroevolution, including the adaptive landscape of their body size evolution, patterns of species diversification, and the origins of birds and bird-like traits. Nevertheless, much remains unknown due to incompleteness of the fossil record at both local and global scales. This presents major challenges at the frontier of paleobiological research regarding tests of macroecological hypotheses and the effects of dinosaur biology, ecology, and life history on their macroevolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger B.J. Benson
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3AN, United Kingdom
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Csiki-Sava Z, Buffetaut E, Ősi A, Pereda-Suberbiola X, Brusatte SL. Island life in the Cretaceous - faunal composition, biogeography, evolution, and extinction of land-living vertebrates on the Late Cretaceous European archipelago. Zookeys 2015; 469:1-161. [PMID: 25610343 PMCID: PMC4296572 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.469.8439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2014] [Accepted: 11/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The Late Cretaceous was a time of tremendous global change, as the final stages of the Age of Dinosaurs were shaped by climate and sea level fluctuations and witness to marked paleogeographic and faunal changes, before the end-Cretaceous bolide impact. The terrestrial fossil record of Late Cretaceous Europe is becoming increasingly better understood, based largely on intensive fieldwork over the past two decades, promising new insights into latest Cretaceous faunal evolution. We review the terrestrial Late Cretaceous record from Europe and discuss its importance for understanding the paleogeography, ecology, evolution, and extinction of land-dwelling vertebrates. We review the major Late Cretaceous faunas from Austria, Hungary, France, Spain, Portugal, and Romania, as well as more fragmentary records from elsewhere in Europe. We discuss the paleogeographic background and history of assembly of these faunas, and argue that they are comprised of an endemic 'core' supplemented with various immigration waves. These faunas lived on an island archipelago, and we describe how this insular setting led to ecological peculiarities such as low diversity, a preponderance of primitive taxa, and marked changes in morphology (particularly body size dwarfing). We conclude by discussing the importance of the European record in understanding the end-Cretaceous extinction and show that there is no clear evidence that dinosaurs or other groups were undergoing long-term declines in Europe prior to the bolide impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoltán Csiki-Sava
- Department of Geology, Faculty of Geology and Geophysics, University of Bucharest, 1 N. Bălcescu Blvd, 010041 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Eric Buffetaut
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 8538, Laboratoire de Géologie de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure, 24 rue Lhomond, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - Attila Ősi
- MTA-ELTE Lendület Dinosaur Research Group, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, Budapest, 1117, Hungary
| | - Xabier Pereda-Suberbiola
- Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Apartado 644, 48080 Bilbao, Spain
| | - Stephen L. Brusatte
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, King’s Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, UK
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