1
|
Xu Y, Jiang S, Wang X. A new istiodactylid pterosaur, Lingyuanopterus camposi gen. et sp. nov., from the Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning, China. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13819. [PMID: 35910775 PMCID: PMC9336611 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13819] [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: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The Istiodactylidae is a group of pterodactyloids characterised by large nasoantorbital fenestrae and labiolingually compressed teeth, with several records reported from the Early Cretaceous of northeastern China and western Europe. Here we report a new istiodactylid, Lingyuanopterus camposi gen. et sp. nov. from the Jiufotang Formation of Lingyuan, Liaoning, northeastern China. The holotype is represented by a near-complete skull, mandible and atlas-axis complex. It is distinguished from other istiodactylids by several characters, including two autapomorphies: short triangular tooth crowns with sharp mesial and distal carinae limited to the distal teeth, mandibular symphysis occupying approximately a quarter the mandible length. We also report the presence of helical jaw joints in istiodactylids, and provide a revised diagnosis of the clade Istiodactylidae, which includes five genera: Istiodactylus, Liaoxipterus, Nurhachius, Luchibang and Lingyuanopterus. Four pellets containing fish fragments were observed and are tentatively interpreted as bromalites of Lingyuanopterus. Although members of this clade possess similar skull morphologies, istiodactylids vary in terms of their dentition, with at least three forms from the Jiufotang Formation alone. This may represent different feeding strategies, and also indicate a similarity between the pterosaur assemblages of northeastern China and Britain during the Early Cretaceous.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yizhi Xu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China,College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
| | - Shunxing Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaolin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China,College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Jiang S, Wang X, Zheng X, Cheng X, Wang X, Wei G, Kellner AWA. Two emetolite-pterosaur associations from the Late Jurassic of China: showing the first evidence for antiperistalsis in pterosaurs. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210043. [PMID: 35125005 PMCID: PMC8819363 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Knowledge about the pterosaur diet and digestive system is limited, and there is little direct evidence in the fossil record. Here, we report two specimens of the wukongopterid Kunpengopterus sinensis, a juvenile and an adult, from the Late Jurassic Yanliao Biota of China with associated bromalites. Both of these concentrations are identified as emetolites, fossilized gastric pellets. These pellets contain scales of an unnamed palaeonisciform fish, confirming the pterosaur was a piscivore. It probably vomited the pellets, indicating the presence of two-part stomachs and efficient antiperistalsis in both juveniles and adults. Comparing the ganoid scales found in the pellets with those of complete fishes, it was possible to determine that the prey of the smaller pellet is an average-sized individual, while the prey of the larger pellet represents a large specimen. Kunpengopterus sinensis might have preyed on the same fish during ontogeny, with adults being able to feed on larger individuals. This article is part of the theme issue 'The impact of Chinese palaeontology on evolutionary research'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shunxing Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoli Wang
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, People's Republic of China.,Tianyu Natural History Museum of Shandong, Pingyi 273300, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoting Zheng
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, People's Republic of China.,Tianyu Natural History Museum of Shandong, Pingyi 273300, People's Republic of China
| | - Xin Cheng
- College of Earth Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130061, People's Republic of China.,Laboratório de Paleontologia, Universidade Regional do Cariri, Crato 63195-000, Brazil
| | - Xiaolin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China.,College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China
| | - Guangjin Wei
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, People's Republic of China.,Tianyu Natural History Museum of Shandong, Pingyi 273300, People's Republic of China
| | - Alexander W A Kellner
- Laboratory of Systematics and Taphonomy of Fossil Vertebrates, Department of Geology and Paleontology, Museu Nacional/Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 20940-040, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Yang L, Zhang X, Zhao X, Xiang H. The Technological Advance and Application of Coprolite Analysis. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.797370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Coprolites (mummified or fossilized feces), belonging to the group of ichnofossils, are fossilized remains of feces produced by animals. Various types of data from coprolites provide detailed evidence of the producer’s condition, like diet, intestinal microbiome, virus infection and parasites diseases. In addition, the palaeoenvironment information relevant to producers’ ecological niche can be drawn from taphonomy details the coprolites mirrored. At present, the phylogenetic clues of the producer’s population can be determined by advanced molecular biotechnologies. With the integration of multiple methods and techniques, coprolite has been widely accepted as an ideal material to study the diet, evolution, and palaeoenvironment of producers. In this paper, we reviewed the history of coprolite research, enumerated and interpreted the data recovered from coprolites, and explained their research value to palaeocoprology and evolutionary biology. Finally, we summarized the current directions of coprolite research and looked into its future prospects.
Collapse
|
4
|
Qvarnström M, Fikáček M, Vikberg Wernström J, Huld S, Beutel RG, Arriaga-Varela E, Ahlberg PE, Niedźwiedzki G. Exceptionally preserved beetles in a Triassic coprolite of putative dinosauriform origin. Curr Biol 2021; 31:3374-3381.e5. [PMID: 34197727 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Revised: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The Triassic was a crucial period for the early evolution and diversification of insects, including Coleoptera1-3-the most diverse order of organisms on Earth. The study of Triassic beetles, however, relies almost exclusively on flattened fossils with limited character preservation. Using synchrotron microtomography, we investigated a fragmentary Upper Triassic coprolite, which contains a rich record of 3D-preserved minute beetle remains of Triamyxa coprolithica gen. et sp. nov. Some specimens are nearly complete, preserving delicate structures of the legs and antennae. Most of them are congruent morphologically, implying that they are conspecific. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that T. coprolithica is a member of Myxophaga, a small suborder of beetles with a sparse fossil record, and that it represents the only member of the extinct family Triamyxidae fam. nov. Our findings highlight that coprolites can contain insect remains, which are almost as well preserved as in amber. They are thus an important source of information for exploring insect evolution before the Cretaceous-Neogene "amber time window." Treated as food residues, insect remains preserved in coprolites also have important implications for the paleoecology of insectivores, in this case, likely the dinosauriform Silesaurus opolensis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Qvarnström
- Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18A, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Martin Fikáček
- Department of Biological Sciences, National Sun Yat-sen University, no. 70, Lienhai Road, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan; Department of Entomology, National Museum, Praha 9, Czech Republic; Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Praha 2, Czech Republic.
| | - Joel Vikberg Wernström
- Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18A, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sigrid Huld
- Geocentrum, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Rolf G Beutel
- Institut für Zoologie und Evolutionsforschung, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Per E Ahlberg
- Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18A, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Grzegorz Niedźwiedzki
- Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18A, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Klug C, Schweigert G, Hoffmann R, Weis R, De Baets K. Fossilized leftover falls as sources of palaeoecological data: a 'pabulite' comprising a crustacean, a belemnite and a vertebrate from the Early Jurassic Posidonia Shale. SWISS JOURNAL OF PALAEONTOLOGY 2021; 140:10. [PMID: 34721282 PMCID: PMC8549986 DOI: 10.1186/s13358-021-00225-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Especially in Lagerstätten with exceptionally preserved fossils, we can sometimes recognize fossilized remains of meals of animals. We suggest the term leftover fall for the event and the term pabulite for the fossilized meal when it never entered the digestive tract (difference to regurgitalites). Usually, pabulites are incomplete organismal remains and show traces of the predation. Pabulites have a great potential to inform about predation as well as anatomical detail, which is invisible otherwise. Here, we document a pabulite comprising the belemnite Passaloteuthis laevigata from the Toarcian of the Holzmaden region. Most of its soft parts are missing while the arm crown is one of the best preserved that is known. Its arms embrace an exuvia of a crustacean. We suggest that the belemnite represents the remnant of the food of a predatory fish such as the shark Hybodus.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christian Klug
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, Karl-Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Günter Schweigert
- Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Rosenstein 1, 70191 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - René Hoffmann
- Institute of Geology, Mineralogy and Geophysics, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
| | - Robert Weis
- Section Paléontologie 25, Musée national d’histoire naturelle, rue Münster, 2160 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
| | - Kenneth De Baets
- GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Fachgruppe PaläoUmwelt, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Loewenichstr. 28, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|