1
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Griffin CT, Botelho JF, Hanson M, Fabbri M, Smith-Paredes D, Carney RM, Norell MA, Egawa S, Gatesy SM, Rowe TB, Elsey RM, Nesbitt SJ, Bhullar BAS. Author Correction: The developing bird pelvis passes through ancestral dinosaurian conditions. Nature 2023; 623:E19. [PMID: 37964130 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06765-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher T Griffin
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - João F Botelho
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Departamento Biología Celular y Molecular, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Michael Hanson
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Matteo Fabbri
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Nagaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Daniel Smith-Paredes
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Ryan M Carney
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Vertebrate Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Shiro Egawa
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Japan
| | - Stephen M Gatesy
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Timothy B Rowe
- Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Ruth M Elsey
- Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Grand Chenier, LA, USA
| | | | - Bhart-Anjan S Bhullar
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
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2
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Wiemann J, Menéndez I, Crawford JM, Fabbri M, Gauthier JA, Hull PM, Norell MA, Briggs DEG. Reply to: Amniote metabolism and the evolution of endothermy. Nature 2023; 621:E4-E6. [PMID: 37673991 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06412-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jasmina Wiemann
- Earth Science Section, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA.
- Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Iris Menéndez
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany.
| | | | - Matteo Fabbri
- Earth Science Section, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Jacques A Gauthier
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Pincelli M Hull
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Derek E G Briggs
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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3
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Barta DE, Griffin CT, Norell MA. Osteohistology of a Triassic dinosaur population reveals highly variable growth trajectories typified early dinosaur ontogeny. Sci Rep 2022; 12:17321. [PMID: 36243889 PMCID: PMC9569331 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-22216-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Intraspecific variation in growth trajectories provides a fundamental source of variation upon which natural selection acts. Recent work hints that early dinosaurs possessed elevated levels of such variation compared to other archosaurs, but comprehensive data uniting body size, bone histology, and morphological variation from a stratigraphically constrained early dinosaur population are needed to test this hypothesis. The Triassic theropod Coelophysis bauri, known from a bonebed preserving a single population of coeval individuals, provides an exceptional system to assess whether highly variable growth patterns were present near the origin of Dinosauria. Twenty-four histologically sampled individuals were less than a year to at least four years old and confirm the right-skewed age distribution of the Coelophysis assemblage. Poor correlations among size, age, and morphological maturity strongly support the presence of unique, highly variable growth trajectories in early dinosaurs relative to coeval archosaurs and their living kin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E. Barta
- grid.465171.00000 0001 0656 6708Present Address: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, OK USA ,grid.241963.b0000 0001 2152 1081Richard Gilder Graduate School and Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY USA
| | - Christopher T. Griffin
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT USA ,grid.47100.320000000419368710Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT USA
| | - Mark A. Norell
- grid.241963.b0000 0001 2152 1081Richard Gilder Graduate School and Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY USA
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4
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Egawa S, Griffin CT, Bishop PJ, Pintore R, Tsai HP, Botelho JF, Smith-Paredes D, Kuratani S, Norell MA, Nesbitt SJ, Hutchinson JR, Bhullar BAS. The dinosaurian femoral head experienced a morphogenetic shift from torsion to growth along the avian stem. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220740. [PMID: 36196539 PMCID: PMC9532989 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Significant evolutionary shifts in locomotor behaviour often involve comparatively subtle anatomical transitions. For dinosaurian and avian evolution, medial overhang of the proximal femur has been central to discussions. However, there is an apparent conflict with regard to the evolutionary origin of the dinosaurian femoral head, with neontological and palaeontological data suggesting seemingly incongruent hypotheses. To reconcile this, we reconstructed the evolutionary history of morphogenesis of the proximal end of the femur from early archosaurs to crown birds. Embryological comparison of living archosaurs (crocodylians and birds) suggests the acquisition of the greater overhang of the femoral head in dinosaurs results from additional growth of the proximal end in the medial-ward direction. On the other hand, the fossil record suggests that this overhang was acquired by torsion of the proximal end, which projected in a more rostral direction ancestrally. We reconcile this apparent conflict by inferring that the medial overhang of the dinosaur femoral head was initially acquired by torsion, which was then superseded by mediad growth. Details of anatomical shifts in fossil forms support this hypothesis, and their biomechanical implications are congruent with the general consensus regarding broader morpho-functional evolution on the avian stem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiro Egawa
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences and Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.,Laboratory for Evolutionary Morphology, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), Kobe, Japan.,Department of Neurophysiology, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Christopher T Griffin
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences and Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Peter J Bishop
- Structure and Motion Laboratory, Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms AL9 7TA, UK.,Museum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Geosciences Program, Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Romain Pintore
- Structure and Motion Laboratory, Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms AL9 7TA, UK.,Mécanismes adaptatifs et évolution (MECADEV)/UMR 7179, CNRS/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Henry P Tsai
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO 65897, USA
| | - João F Botelho
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences and Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.,Department of Biology, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT 06515, USA.,Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Daniel Smith-Paredes
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences and Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Shigeru Kuratani
- Laboratory for Evolutionary Morphology, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), Kobe, Japan
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Vertebrate Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - John R Hutchinson
- Structure and Motion Laboratory, Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms AL9 7TA, UK
| | - Bhart-Anjan S Bhullar
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences and Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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5
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Norell MA, Wiemann J, Menéndez I, Fabbri M, Yu C, Marsicano CA, Moore-Nall A, Varricchio DJ, Pol D, Zelenitsky DK. Reply to: Triassic sauropodomorph eggshell might not be soft. Nature 2022; 610:E11-E14. [PMID: 36261552 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05152-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mark A Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jasmina Wiemann
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. .,Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
| | - Iris Menéndez
- Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. .,Departamento de Cambio Medioambiental, Instituto de Geociencias (UCM, CSIC), Madrid, Spain.
| | - Matteo Fabbri
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. .,Negaunee Integrative Research Centre, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA.
| | - Congyu Yu
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Claudia A Marsicano
- Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | | | - Diego Pol
- CONICET, Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, Trelew, Argentina
| | - Darla K Zelenitsky
- Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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6
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Griffin CT, Botelho JF, Hanson M, Fabbri M, Smith-Paredes D, Carney RM, Norell MA, Egawa S, Gatesy SM, Rowe TB, Elsey RM, Nesbitt SJ, Bhullar BAS. The developing bird pelvis passes through ancestral dinosaurian conditions. Nature 2022; 608:346-352. [PMID: 35896745 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04982-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Living birds (Aves) have bodies substantially modified from the ancestral reptilian condition. The avian pelvis in particular experienced major changes during the transition from early archosaurs to living birds1,2. This stepwise transformation is well documented by an excellent fossil record2-4; however, the ontogenetic alterations that underly it are less well understood. We used embryological imaging techniques to examine the morphogenesis of avian pelvic tissues in three dimensions, allowing direct comparison with the fossil record. Many ancestral dinosaurian features2 (for example, a forward-facing pubis, short ilium and pubic 'boot') are transiently present in the early morphogenesis of birds and arrive at their typical 'avian' form after transitioning through a prenatal developmental sequence that mirrors the phylogenetic sequence of character acquisition. We demonstrate quantitatively that avian pelvic ontogeny parallels the non-avian dinosaur-to-bird transition and provide evidence for phenotypic covariance within the pelvis that is conserved across Archosauria. The presence of ancestral states in avian embryos may stem from this conserved covariant relationship. In sum, our data provide evidence that the avian pelvis, whose early development has been little studied5-7, evolved through terminal addition-a mechanism8-10 whereby new apomorphic states are added to the end of a developmental sequence, resulting in expression8,11 of ancestral character states earlier in that sequence. The phenotypic integration we detected suggests a previously unrecognized mechanism for terminal addition and hints that retention of ancestral states in development is common during evolutionary transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher T Griffin
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - João F Botelho
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Departamento Biología Celular y Molecular, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Michael Hanson
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Matteo Fabbri
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Nagaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Daniel Smith-Paredes
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Ryan M Carney
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Vertebrate Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Shiro Egawa
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Japan
| | - Stephen M Gatesy
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Timothy B Rowe
- Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Ruth M Elsey
- Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Grand Chenier, LA, USA
| | | | - Bhart-Anjan S Bhullar
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
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7
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Hanson M, Hoffman EA, Norell MA, Bhullar BAS. Response to Comment on "The early origin of a birdlike inner ear and the evolution of dinosaurian movement and vocalization". Science 2022; 376:eabl8181. [PMID: 35737783 DOI: 10.1126/science.abl8181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
David et al. claim that vestibular shape does not reflect function and that we did not use phylogenetic inference methods in our primary analyses. We show that their claims are countered by comparative and direct experimental evidence from across Vertebrata and that their models are empirically unverified. We did use phylogenetic methods to test our hypotheses. Moreover, their phylogenetic correction attempts are methodologically inappropriate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Hanson
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.,Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Eva A Hoffman
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Bhart-Anjan S Bhullar
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.,Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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8
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Csiki-Sava Z, Vremir M, Meng J, Vasile Ş, Brusatte SL, Norell MA. Spatial and Temporal Distribution of the Island-Dwelling Kogaionidae (Mammalia, Multituberculata) in the Uppermost Cretaceous of Transylvania (Western Romania). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2022. [DOI: 10.1206/0003-0090.456.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zoltán Csiki-Sava
- Laboratory of Paleontology, Faculty of Geology and Geophysics, and Center for Risk Studies, Space Modeling and Dynamics of Terrestrial and Coastal Systems, University of Bucharest
| | - Mátyás Vremir
- Deceased; formerly Department of Natural Sciences, Transylvanian Museum Society, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Jin Meng
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York
| | - Ştefan Vasile
- Laboratory of Paleontology, Faculty of Geology and Geophysics, and Center for Risk Studies, Space Modeling and Dynamics of Terrestrial and Coastal Systems, University of Bucharest
| | | | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York
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9
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Wiemann J, Menéndez I, Crawford JM, Fabbri M, Gauthier JA, Hull PM, Norell MA, Briggs DEG. Fossil biomolecules reveal an avian metabolism in the ancestral dinosaur. Nature 2022; 606:522-526. [PMID: 35614213 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04770-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Birds and mammals independently evolved the highest metabolic rates among living animals1. Their metabolism generates heat that enables active thermoregulation1, shaping the ecological niches they can occupy and their adaptability to environmental change2. The metabolic performance of birds, which exceeds that of mammals, is thought to have evolved along their stem lineage3-10. However, there is no proxy that enables the direct reconstruction of metabolic rates from fossils. Here we use in situ Raman and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to quantify the in vivo accumulation of metabolic lipoxidation signals in modern and fossil amniote bones. We observe no correlation between atmospheric oxygen concentrations11 and metabolic rates. Inferred ancestral states reveal that the metabolic rates consistent with endothermy evolved independently in mammals and plesiosaurs, and are ancestral to ornithodirans, with increasing rates along the avian lineage. High metabolic rates were acquired in pterosaurs, ornithischians, sauropods and theropods well before the advent of energetically costly adaptations, such as flight in birds. Although they had higher metabolic rates ancestrally, ornithischians reduced their metabolic abilities towards ectothermy. The physiological activities of such ectotherms were dependent on environmental and behavioural thermoregulation12, in contrast to the active lifestyles of endotherms1. Giant sauropods and theropods were not gigantothermic9,10, but true endotherms. Endothermy in many Late Cretaceous taxa, in addition to crown mammals and birds, suggests that attributes other than metabolism determined their fate during the terminal Cretaceous mass extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmina Wiemann
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Iris Menéndez
- Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Cambio Medioambiental, Instituto de Geociencias (UCM, CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Matteo Fabbri
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jacques A Gauthier
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Pincelli M Hull
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Derek E G Briggs
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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10
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Huang J, Zhong Y, Makohon-Moore AP, White T, Jasin M, Norell MA, Wheeler WC, Iacobuzio-Donahue CA. Evidence for reduced BRCA2 functional activity in Homo sapiens after divergence from the chimpanzee-human last common ancestor. Cell Rep 2022; 39:110771. [PMID: 35508134 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
We performed a comparative analysis of human and 12 non-human primates to identify sequence variations in known cancer genes. We identified 395 human-specific fixed non-silent substitutions that emerged during evolution of human. Using bioinformatics analyses for functional consequences, we identified a number of substitutions that are predicted to alter protein function; one of these mutations is located at the most evolutionarily conserved domain of human BRCA2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinlong Huang
- Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Yi Zhong
- Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Alvin P Makohon-Moore
- Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Travis White
- Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Maria Jasin
- Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Ward C Wheeler
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Christine A Iacobuzio-Donahue
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA; Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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11
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Napoli JG, Ruebenstahl AA, Bhullar BAS, Turner AH, Norell MA. A New Dromaeosaurid (Dinosauria: Coelurosauria) from Khulsan, Central Mongolia. American Museum Novitates 2021. [DOI: 10.1206/3982.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- James G. Napoli
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, New York
| | | | | | - Alan H. Turner
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, New York
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12
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Watanabe A, Balanoff AM, Gignac PM, Gold MEL, Norell MA. Novel neuroanatomical integration and scaling define avian brain shape evolution and development. eLife 2021; 10:68809. [PMID: 34227464 PMCID: PMC8260227 DOI: 10.7554/elife.68809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
How do large and unique brains evolve? Historically, comparative neuroanatomical studies have attributed the evolutionary genesis of highly encephalized brains to deviations along, as well as from, conserved scaling relationships among brain regions. However, the relative contributions of these concerted (integrated) and mosaic (modular) processes as drivers of brain evolution remain unclear, especially in non-mammalian groups. While proportional brain sizes have been the predominant metric used to characterize brain morphology to date, we perform a high-density geometric morphometric analysis on the encephalized brains of crown birds (Neornithes or Aves) compared to their stem taxa—the non-avialan coelurosaurian dinosaurs and Archaeopteryx. When analyzed together with developmental neuroanatomical data of model archosaurs (Gallus, Alligator), crown birds exhibit a distinct allometric relationship that dictates their brain evolution and development. Furthermore, analyses by neuroanatomical regions reveal that the acquisition of this derived shape-to-size scaling relationship occurred in a mosaic pattern, where the avian-grade optic lobe and cerebellum evolved first among non-avialan dinosaurs, followed by major changes to the evolutionary and developmental dynamics of cerebrum shape after the origin of Avialae. Notably, the brain of crown birds is a more integrated structure than non-avialan archosaurs, implying that diversification of brain morphologies within Neornithes proceeded in a more coordinated manner, perhaps due to spatial constraints and abbreviated growth period. Collectively, these patterns demonstrate a plurality in evolutionary processes that generate encephalized brains in archosaurs and across vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akinobu Watanabe
- Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, United States.,Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, United States.,Department of Life Sciences Vertebrates Division, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
| | - Amy M Balanoff
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, United States.,Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States
| | - Paul M Gignac
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, United States.,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, United States
| | - M Eugenia L Gold
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, United States.,Biology Department, Suffolk University, Boston, United States
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, United States
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13
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Torres CR, Norell MA, Clarke JA. Bird neurocranial and body mass evolution across the end-Cretaceous mass extinction: The avian brain shape left other dinosaurs behind. Sci Adv 2021; 7:eabg7099. [PMID: 34330706 PMCID: PMC8324052 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abg7099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Birds today are the most diverse clade of terrestrial vertebrates, and understanding why extant birds (Aves) alone among dinosaurs survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction is crucial to reconstructing the history of life. Hypotheses proposed to explain this pattern demand identification of traits unique to Aves. However, this identification is complicated by a lack of data from non-avian birds. Here, we interrogate survivorship hypotheses using data from a new, nearly complete skull of Late Cretaceous (~70 million years) bird Ichthyornis and reassess shifts in bird body size across the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. Ichthyornis exhibited a wulst and segmented palate, previously proposed to have arisen within extant birds. The origin of Aves is marked by larger, reshaped brains indicating selection for relatively large telencephala and eyes but not by uniquely small body size. Sensory system differences, potentially linked to these shifts, may help explain avian survivorship relative to other dinosaurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher R Torres
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
- Jackson School of Geoscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA
| | - Mark A Norell
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Julia A Clarke
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
- Jackson School of Geoscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
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14
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Choiniere JN, Neenan JM, Schmitz L, Ford DP, Chapelle KEJ, Balanoff AM, Sipla JS, Georgi JA, Walsh SA, Norell MA, Xu X, Clark JM, Benson RBJ. Evolution of vision and hearing modalities in theropod dinosaurs. Science 2021; 372:610-613. [PMID: 33958472 DOI: 10.1126/science.abe7941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Owls and nightbirds are nocturnal hunters of active prey that combine visual and hearing adaptations to overcome limits on sensory performance in low light. Such sensory innovations are unknown in nonavialan theropod dinosaurs and are poorly characterized on the line that leads to birds. We investigate morphofunctional proxies of vision and hearing in living and extinct theropods and demonstrate deep evolutionary divergences of sensory modalities. Nocturnal predation evolved early in the nonavialan lineage Alvarezsauroidea, signaled by extreme low-light vision and increases in hearing sensitivity. The Late Cretaceous alvarezsauroid Shuvuuia deserti had even further specialized hearing acuity, rivaling that of today's barn owl. This combination of sensory adaptations evolved independently in dinosaurs long before the modern bird radiation and provides a notable example of convergence between dinosaurs and mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonah N Choiniere
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa
| | - James M Neenan
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa.,Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW, UK
| | - Lars Schmitz
- W.M. Keck Science Department, Claremont McKenna, Scripps, and Pitzer Colleges, 925 N Mills Ave., Claremont, CA 91711, USA.,Dinosaur Institute, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
| | - David P Ford
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa
| | - Kimberley E J Chapelle
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa.,Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Amy M Balanoff
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA.,Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Justin S Sipla
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, 51 Newton Road, 100 Bowen Science Building, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Justin A Georgi
- Department of Anatomy, College of Graduate Studies, Midwestern University, 19555 N 59th Avenue, Glendale, AZ 85308, USA
| | - Stig A Walsh
- Department of Natural Sciences, National Museums Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, UK.,School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, Hutton Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FE, UK
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Xing Xu
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 142 Xizhimenwai Street, Beijing 100044, China.,Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, China
| | - James M Clark
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, 2029 G St. NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Roger B J Benson
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa. .,Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK
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15
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Hanson M, Hoffman EA, Norell MA, Bhullar BAS. The early origin of a birdlike inner ear and the evolution of dinosaurian movement and vocalization. Science 2021; 372:601-609. [PMID: 33958471 DOI: 10.1126/science.abb4305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Reptiles, including birds, exhibit a range of behaviorally relevant adaptations that are reflected in changes to the structure of the inner ear. These adaptations include the capacity for flight and sensitivity to high-frequency sound. We used three-dimensional morphometric analyses of a large sample of extant and extinct reptiles to investigate inner ear correlates of locomotor ability and hearing acuity. Statistical analyses revealed three vestibular morphotypes, best explained by three locomotor categories-quadrupeds, bipeds and simple fliers (including bipedal nonavialan dinosaurs), and high-maneuverability fliers. Troodontids fall with Archaeopteryx among the extant low-maneuverability fliers. Analyses of cochlear shape revealed a single instance of elongation, on the stem of Archosauria. We suggest that this transformation coincided with the origin of both high-pitched juvenile location, alarm, and hatching-synchronization calls and adult responses to them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Hanson
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.,Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Eva A Hoffman
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Bhart-Anjan S Bhullar
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. .,Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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16
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Pittman M, Habib MB, Dececchi TA, Larsson HCE, Pei R, Kaye TG, Norell MA, Brusatte SL, Xu X. Response to Serrano and Chiappe. Curr Biol 2021; 31:R372-R373. [PMID: 33905690 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In the recent study in Current Biology by Pei and colleagues1, we used two proxies - wing loading and specific lift - to reconstruct powered flight potential across the vaned feathered fossil pennaraptorans. The results recovered multiple origins of powered flight. We respectfully disagree with the criticism raised by Serrano and Chiappe2 that wing loading and specific lift, used in sequence, fail to discriminate between powered flight and gliding. We will explain this in reference to our original conservative approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Pittman
- Vertebrate Palaeontology Laboratory, Research Division for Earth and Planetary Science, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
| | - Michael B Habib
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
| | | | | | - Rui Pei
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Thomas G Kaye
- Foundation for Scientific Advancement, Sierra Vista, AZ 85650, USA
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York City, NY 10024, USA
| | | | - Xing Xu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
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17
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Barta DE, Norell MA. The Osteology of Haya griva (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2021. [DOI: 10.1206/0003-0090.445.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E. Barta
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, OK; and Richard Gilder Graduate School and Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of Paleontology American Museum of Natural History, New York
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18
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Turner AH, Montanari S, Norell MA. A New Dromaeosaurid from the Late Cretaceous Khulsan Locality of Mongolia. American Museum Novitates 2021. [DOI: 10.1206/3965.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alan H. Turner
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, and Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York
| | - Shaena Montanari
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York; currently Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, Phoenix Arizona
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York
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19
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Felice RN, Watanabe A, Cuff AR, Hanson M, Bhullar BAS, Rayfield ER, Witmer LM, Norell MA, Goswami A. Decelerated dinosaur skull evolution with the origin of birds. PLoS Biol 2020; 18:e3000801. [PMID: 32810126 PMCID: PMC7437466 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolutionary radiation of birds has produced incredible morphological variation, including a huge range of skull form and function. Investigating how this variation arose with respect to non-avian dinosaurs is key to understanding how birds achieved their remarkable success after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. Using a high-dimensional geometric morphometric approach, we quantified the shape of the skull in unprecedented detail across 354 extant and 37 extinct avian and non-avian dinosaurs. Comparative analyses reveal fundamental differences in how skull shape evolved in birds and non-avian dinosaurs. We find that the overall skull shape evolved faster in non-avian dinosaurs than in birds across all regions of the cranium. In birds, the anterior rostrum is the most rapidly evolving skull region, whereas more posterior regions-such as the parietal, squamosal, and quadrate-exhibited high rates in non-avian dinosaurs. These fast-evolving elements in dinosaurs are strongly associated with feeding biomechanics, forming the jaw joint and supporting the jaw adductor muscles. Rapid pulses of skull evolution coincide with changes to food acquisition strategies and diets, as well as the proliferation of bony skull ornaments. In contrast to the appendicular skeleton, which has been shown to evolve more rapidly in birds, avian cranial morphology is characterised by a striking deceleration in morphological evolution relative to non-avian dinosaurs. These results may be due to the reorganisation of skull structure in birds-including loss of a separate postorbital bone in adults and the emergence of new trade-offs with development and neurosensory demands. Taken together, the remarkable cranial shape diversity in birds was not a product of accelerated evolution from their non-avian relatives, despite their frequent portrayal as an icon of adaptive radiations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan N. Felice
- Centre for Integrative Anatomy, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Life Sciences Department, Vertebrates Division, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
| | - Akinobu Watanabe
- Life Sciences Department, Vertebrates Division, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, New York, United States of America
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Andrew R. Cuff
- Hull York Medical School, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Michael Hanson
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Emily R. Rayfield
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Lawrence M. Witmer
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Anjali Goswami
- Life Sciences Department, Vertebrates Division, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
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20
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Prieto‐Márquez A, Garcia‐Porta J, Joshi SH, Norell MA, Makovicky PJ. Modularity and heterochrony in the evolution of the ceratopsian dinosaur frill. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:6288-6309. [PMID: 32724514 PMCID: PMC7381594 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Revised: 04/18/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The fossil record provides compelling examples of heterochrony at macroevolutionary scales such as the peramorphic giant antlers of the Irish elk. Heterochrony has also been invoked in the evolution of the distinctive cranial frill of ceratopsian dinosaurs such as Triceratops. Although ceratopsian frills vary in size, shape, and ornamentation, quantitative analyses that would allow for testing hypotheses of heterochrony are lacking. Here, we use geometric morphometrics to examine frill shape variation across ceratopsian diversity and within four species preserving growth series. We then test whether the frill constitutes an evolvable module both across and within species, and compare growth trajectories of taxa with ontogenetic growth series to identify heterochronic processes. Evolution of the ceratopsian frill consisted primarily of progressive expansion of its caudal and caudolateral margins, with morphospace occupation following taxonomic groups. Although taphonomic distortion represents a complicating factor, our data support modularity both across and within species. Peramorphosis played an important role in frill evolution, with acceleration operating early in neoceratopsian evolution followed by progenesis in later diverging cornosaurian ceratopsians. Peramorphic evolution of the ceratopsian frill may have been facilitated by the decoupling of this structure from the jaw musculature, an inference that predicts an expansion of morphospace occupation and higher evolutionary rates among ceratopsids as indeed borne out by our data. However, denser sampling of the meager record of early-diverging taxa is required to test this further.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert Prieto‐Márquez
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel CrusafontUniversitat Autònoma de BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
- Integrative Research CenterField Museum of Natural HistoryChicagoILUSA
| | - Joan Garcia‐Porta
- CREAFBarcelonaSpain
- Department of BiologyWashington UniversitySt. LouisMOUSA
| | - Shantanu H. Joshi
- Department of Neurology and Ahmanson Lovelace Brain Mapping CenterUniversity of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesCAUSA
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of PaleontologyAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryNew YorkNYUSA
| | - Peter J. Makovicky
- Integrative Research CenterField Museum of Natural HistoryChicagoILUSA
- Department of Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of MinnesotaMinneapolisMNUSA
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21
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Tschopp E, Mehling C, Norell MA. Reconstructing the Specimens and History of Howe Quarry (Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation; Wyoming). American Museum Novitates 2020. [DOI: 10.1206/3956.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emanuel Tschopp
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York
| | - Carl Mehling
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York
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22
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Ksepka DT, Balanoff AM, Smith NA, Bever GS, Bhullar BAS, Bourdon E, Braun EL, Burleigh JG, Clarke JA, Colbert MW, Corfield JR, Degrange FJ, De Pietri VL, Early CM, Field DJ, Gignac PM, Gold MEL, Kimball RT, Kawabe S, Lefebvre L, Marugán-Lobón J, Mongle CS, Morhardt A, Norell MA, Ridgely RC, Rothman RS, Scofield RP, Tambussi CP, Torres CR, van Tuinen M, Walsh SA, Watanabe A, Witmer LM, Wright AK, Zanno LE, Jarvis ED, Smaers JB. Tempo and Pattern of Avian Brain Size Evolution. Curr Biol 2020; 30:2026-2036.e3. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.03.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2019] [Revised: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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23
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Felice RN, Watanabe A, Cuff AR, Noirault E, Pol D, Witmer LM, Norell MA, O'Connor PM, Goswami A. Evolutionary Integration and Modularity in the Archosaur Cranium. Integr Comp Biol 2019; 59:371-382. [PMID: 31120528 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icz052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Complex structures, like the vertebrate skull, are composed of numerous elements or traits that must develop and evolve in a coordinated manner to achieve multiple functions. The strength of association among phenotypic traits (i.e., integration), and their organization into highly-correlated, semi-independent subunits termed modules, is a result of the pleiotropic and genetic correlations that generate traits. As such, patterns of integration and modularity are thought to be key factors constraining or facilitating the evolution of phenotypic disparity by influencing the patterns of variation upon which selection can act. It is often hypothesized that selection can reshape patterns of integration, parceling single structures into multiple modules or merging ancestrally semi-independent traits into a strongly correlated unit. However, evolutionary shifts in patterns of trait integration are seldom assessed in a unified quantitative framework. Here, we quantify patterns of evolutionary integration among regions of the archosaur skull to investigate whether patterns of cranial integration are conserved or variable across this diverse group. Using high-dimensional geometric morphometric data from 3D surface scans and computed tomography scans of modern birds (n = 352), fossil non-avian dinosaurs (n = 27), and modern and fossil mesoeucrocodylians (n = 38), we demonstrate that some aspects of cranial integration are conserved across these taxonomic groups, despite their major differences in cranial form, function, and development. All three groups are highly modular and consistently exhibit high integration within the occipital region. However, there are also substantial divergences in correlation patterns. Birds uniquely exhibit high correlation between the pterygoid and quadrate, components of the cranial kinesis apparatus, whereas the non-avian dinosaur quadrate is more closely associated with the jugal and quadratojugal. Mesoeucrocodylians exhibit a slightly more integrated facial skeleton overall than the other grades. Overall, patterns of trait integration are shown to be stable among archosaurs, which is surprising given the cranial diversity exhibited by the clade. At the same time, evolutionary innovations such as cranial kinesis that reorganize the structure and function of complex traits can result in modifications of trait correlations and modularity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan N Felice
- Centre for Integrative Anatomy, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.,Life Sciences Department, Vertebrates Division, Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Akinobu Watanabe
- Life Sciences Department, Vertebrates Division, Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UK.,Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA.,Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Andrew R Cuff
- Structure and Motion Laboratory, Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hertfordshire, AL9 7TA, UK
| | - Eve Noirault
- Life Sciences Department, Vertebrates Division, Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Diego Pol
- CONICET. Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, Av. Fontana 140, Trelew, Chubut, U9100GYO, Argentina
| | - Lawrence M Witmer
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, OH, USA
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Patrick M O'Connor
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, OH, USA.,Ohio Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Studies, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA
| | - Anjali Goswami
- Life Sciences Department, Vertebrates Division, Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UK.,Department of Genetics, Evolution, and Environment, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
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24
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Tschopp E, Maidment SC, Lamanna MC, Norell MA. Reassessment of a Historical Collection of Sauropod Dinosaurs from the Northern Morrison Formation of Wyoming, with Implications for Sauropod Biogeography. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2019. [DOI: 10.1206/0003-0090.437.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emanuel Tschopp
- American Museum of Natural History, Division of Paleontology, New York; Museu da Lourinhã, Lourinhã, Portugal
| | | | - Matthew C. Lamanna
- Section of Vertebrate Paleontology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh
| | - Mark A. Norell
- American Museum of Natural History, Division of Paleontology, New York
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25
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C. Hood
- Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin
| | - Chris R. Torres
- Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY
| | - Julia A. Clarke
- Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin
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26
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Napoli JG, Hunt T, Erickson GM, Norell MA. Psittacosaurus amitabha, a New Species of Ceratopsian Dinosaur from the Ondai Sayr Locality, Central Mongolia. American Museum Novitates 2019. [DOI: 10.1206/3932.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- James G. Napoli
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History
| | - Tyler Hunt
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University
| | | | - Mark A. Norell
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History
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27
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Torres CR, Norell MA, Clarke JA. Estimating Flight Style of Early Eocene Stem Palaeognath Bird Calciavis grandei (Lithornithidae). Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2019; 303:1035-1042. [PMID: 31313482 DOI: 10.1002/ar.24207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2018] [Revised: 01/26/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Lithornithids are volant stem palaeognaths from the Paleocene-Eocene. Except for these taxa and the extant neotropical tinamous, all other known extinct and extant palaeognaths are flightless. Investigation of properties of the lithornithid wing and its implications for inference of flight style informs understood locomotor diversity within Palaeognathae and may have implications for estimation of ancestral traits in the clade. Qualitative comparisons with their closest extant volant relatives, the burst-flying tinamous, previously revealed skeletal differences suggesting lithornithids were capable of sustained flight, but quantitative work on wing morphology have been lacking. Until comparatively recently, specimens of lithornithids preserving wing feather remains have been limited. Here, we reconstruct the wing of an exceptionally preserved specimen of the Early Eocene lithornithid Calciavis grandei and estimate body mass, wing surface area, and wing span. We then estimate flight parameters and compare our estimates with representatives from across Aves in a statistical framework. We predict that flight in C. grandei was likely marked by continuous flapping, and that lithornithids were capable of sustained flight and migratory behavior. Our results are consistent with previous hypotheses that the ancestor of extant Palaeognathae may also have been capable of sustained flight. Anat Rec, 303:1035-1042, 2020. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark A Norell
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York.,Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York
| | - Julia A Clarke
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.,Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
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28
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Wiemann J, Yang TR, Norell MA. Reply to: Egg pigmentation probably has an Archosaurian origin. Nature 2019; 570:E46-E50. [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1283-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2018] [Accepted: 03/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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29
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Saitta ET, Liang R, Lau MCY, Brown CM, Longrich NR, Kaye TG, Novak BJ, Salzberg SL, Norell MA, Abbott GD, Dickinson MR, Vinther J, Bull ID, Brooker RA, Martin P, Donohoe P, Knowles TDJ, Penkman KEH, Onstott T. Cretaceous dinosaur bone contains recent organic material and provides an environment conducive to microbial communities. eLife 2019; 8:e46205. [PMID: 31210129 PMCID: PMC6581507 DOI: 10.7554/elife.46205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2019] [Accepted: 05/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Fossils were thought to lack original organic molecules, but chemical analyses show that some can survive. Dinosaur bone has been proposed to preserve collagen, osteocytes, and blood vessels. However, proteins and labile lipids are diagenetically unstable, and bone is a porous open system, allowing microbial/molecular flux. These 'soft tissues' have been reinterpreted as biofilms. Organic preservation versus contamination of dinosaur bone was examined by freshly excavating, with aseptic protocols, fossils and sedimentary matrix, and chemically/biologically analyzing them. Fossil 'soft tissues' differed from collagen chemically and structurally; while degradation would be expected, the patterns observed did not support this. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing revealed that dinosaur bone hosted an abundant microbial community different from lesser abundant communities of surrounding sediment. Subsurface dinosaur bone is a relatively fertile habitat, attracting microbes that likely utilize inorganic nutrients and complicate identification of original organic material. There exists potential post-burial taphonomic roles for subsurface microorganisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan T Saitta
- Integrative Research Center, Section of Earth SciencesField Museum of Natural HistoryChicagoUnited States
| | - Renxing Liang
- Department of GeosciencesPrinceton UniversityPrincetonUnited States
| | - Maggie CY Lau
- Department of GeosciencesPrinceton UniversityPrincetonUnited States
- Institute of Deep-Sea Science and EngineeringChinese Academy of SciencesSanyaChina
| | - Caleb M Brown
- Royal Tyrrell Museum of PalaeontologyDrumhellerCanada
| | - Nicholas R Longrich
- Department of Biology and BiochemistryUniversity of BathBathUnited Kingdom
- Milner Centre for EvolutionUniversity of BathBathUnited Kingdom
| | - Thomas G Kaye
- Foundation for Scientific AdvancementSierra VistaUnited States
| | - Ben J Novak
- Revive and RestoreSan FranciscoUnited States
| | - Steven L Salzberg
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Center for Computational Biology, McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic MedicineJohns Hopkins UniversityBaltimoreUnited States
- Department of Computer Science, Center for Computational Biology, McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic MedicineJohns Hopkins UniversityBaltimoreUnited States
- Department of Biostatistics, Center for Computational Biology, McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic MedicineJohns Hopkins UniversityBaltimoreUnited States
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of PaleontologyAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryNew YorkUnited States
| | - Geoffrey D Abbott
- School of Natural and Environmental SciencesNewcastle UniversityNewcastle upon TyneUnited Kingdom
| | | | - Jakob Vinther
- School of Earth SciencesUniversity of BristolBristolUnited Kingdom
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of BristolBristolUnited Kingdom
| | - Ian D Bull
- School of ChemistryUniversity of BristolBristolUnited Kingdom
| | | | - Peter Martin
- School of PhysicsUniversity of BristolBristolUnited Kingdom
| | - Paul Donohoe
- School of Natural and Environmental SciencesNewcastle UniversityNewcastle upon TyneUnited Kingdom
| | - Timothy DJ Knowles
- School of ChemistryUniversity of BristolBristolUnited Kingdom
- School of ArtsUniversity of BristolBristolUnited Kingdom
| | | | - Tullis Onstott
- Department of GeosciencesPrinceton UniversityPrincetonUnited States
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Watanabe A, Gignac PM, Balanoff AM, Green TL, Kley NJ, Norell MA. Are endocasts good proxies for brain size and shape in archosaurs throughout ontogeny? J Anat 2019; 234:291-305. [PMID: 30506962 PMCID: PMC6365484 DOI: 10.1111/joa.12918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Cranial endocasts, or the internal molds of the braincase, are a crucial correlate for investigating the neuroanatomy of extinct vertebrates and tracking brain evolution through deep time. Nevertheless, the validity of such studies pivots on the reliability of endocasts as a proxy for brain morphology. Here, we employ micro-computed tomography imaging, including diffusible iodine-based contrast-enhanced CT, and a three-dimensional geometric morphometric framework to examine both size and shape differences between brains and endocasts of two exemplar archosaur taxa - the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) and the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus). With ontogenetic sampling, we quantitatively evaluate how endocasts differ from brains and whether this deviation changes during development. We find strong size and shape correlations between brains and endocasts, divergent ontogenetic trends in the brain-to-endocast correspondence between alligators and chickens, and a comparable magnitude between brain-endocast shape differences and intraspecific neuroanatomical variation. The results have important implications for paleoneurological studies in archosaurs. Notably, we demonstrate that the pattern of endocranial shape variation closely reflects brain shape variation. Therefore, analyses of endocranial morphology are unlikely to generate spurious conclusions about large-scale trends in brain size and shape. To mitigate any artifacts, however, paleoneurological studies should consider the lower brain-endocast correspondence in the hindbrain relative to the forebrain; higher size and shape correspondences in chickens than alligators throughout postnatal ontogeny; artificially 'pedomorphic' shape of endocasts relative to their corresponding brains; and potential biases in both size and shape data due to the lack of control for ontogenetic stages in endocranial sampling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akinobu Watanabe
- Department of AnatomyNew York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic MedicineOld WestburyNYUSA
- Division of PaleontologyAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryNew YorkNYUSA
- Richard Gilder Graduate SchoolAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryNew YorkNYUSA
- Department of Life Sciences Vertebrates DivisionNatural History MuseumLondonUK
| | - Paul M. Gignac
- Division of PaleontologyAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryNew YorkNYUSA
- Department of Anatomy and Cell BiologyOklahoma State University Center for Health SciencesTulsaOKUSA
| | - Amy M. Balanoff
- Division of PaleontologyAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryNew YorkNYUSA
- Center for Functional Anatomy and EvolutionJohns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMDUSA
| | - Todd L. Green
- Department of Anatomy and Cell BiologyOklahoma State University Center for Health SciencesTulsaOKUSA
| | - Nathan J. Kley
- Department of Anatomical SciencesStony Brook UniversityStony BrookNYUSA
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of PaleontologyAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryNew YorkNYUSA
- Richard Gilder Graduate SchoolAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryNew YorkNYUSA
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31
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Wiemann J, Fabbri M, Yang TR, Stein K, Sander PM, Norell MA, Briggs DEG. Fossilization transforms vertebrate hard tissue proteins into N-heterocyclic polymers. Nat Commun 2018; 9:4741. [PMID: 30413693 PMCID: PMC6226439 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07013-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2018] [Accepted: 10/10/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Vertebrate hard tissues consist of mineral crystallites within a proteinaceous scaffold that normally degrades post-mortem. Here we show, however, that decalcification of Mesozoic hard tissues preserved in oxidative settings releases brownish stained extracellular matrix, cells, blood vessels, and nerve projections. Raman Microspectroscopy shows that these fossil soft tissues are a product of diagenetic transformation to Advanced Glycoxidation and Lipoxidation End Products, a class of N-heterocyclic polymers generated via oxidative crosslinking of proteinaceous scaffolds. Hard tissues in reducing environments, in contrast, lack soft tissue preservation. Comparison of fossil soft tissues with modern and experimentally matured samples reveals how proteinaceous tissues undergo diagenesis and explains biases in their preservation in the rock record. This provides a target, focused on oxidative depositional environments, for finding cellular-to-subcellular soft tissue morphology in fossils and validates its use in phylogenetic and other evolutionary studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmina Wiemann
- Department of Geology & Geophysics, Yale University, 210 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.
| | - Matteo Fabbri
- Department of Geology & Geophysics, Yale University, 210 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Tzu-Ruei Yang
- Steinmann Institute for Geology, Mineralogy, and Paleontology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115, Bonn, Germany
| | - Koen Stein
- Earth System Sciences AMGC, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | - P Martin Sander
- Steinmann Institute for Geology, Mineralogy, and Paleontology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115, Bonn, Germany
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90007, USA
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Vertebrate Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY, 10024-5192, USA
| | - Derek E G Briggs
- Department of Geology & Geophysics, Yale University, 210 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
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32
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Wiemann J, Yang TR, Norell MA. Dinosaur egg colour had a single evolutionary origin. Nature 2018; 563:555-558. [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0646-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Accepted: 08/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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33
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Dollman KN, Clark JM, Norell MA, Xing X, Choiniere JN. Convergent Evolution of a Eusuchian-Type Secondary Palate within Shartegosuchidae. American Museum Novitates 2018. [DOI: 10.1206/3901.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen N. Dollman
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
| | | | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History
| | - Xu Xing
- The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing
| | - Jonah N. Choiniere
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
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34
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Gold MEL, Norell MA, Budassi M, Vaska P, Schulz D. Rapid 18F-FDG Uptake in Brain of Awake, Behaving Rat and Anesthetized Chicken has Implications for Behavioral PET Studies in Species With High Metabolisms. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:115. [PMID: 29922136 PMCID: PMC5996747 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2017] [Accepted: 05/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain-behavior studies using 18F-FDG PET aim to reveal brain regions that become active during behavior. In standard protocols, 18F-FDG is injected, the behavior is executed during 30–60 min of tracer uptake, and then the animal is anesthetized and scanned. Hence, the uptake of 18F-FDG is not itself observed and could, in fact, be complete in very little time. This has implications for behavioral studies because uptake is assumed to reflect concurrent behavior. Here, we utilized a new, miniature PET scanner termed RatCAP to measure uptake simultaneously with behavior. We employed a novel injection protocol in which we administered 18F-FDG (i.v.) four times over two 2 h to allow for repeated measurements and the correlation of changes in uptake and behavioral activity. Furthermore, using standard PET methods, we explored the effects of injection route on uptake time in chickens, a model for avians, for which PET studies are just beginning. We found that in the awake, behaving rat most of the 18F-FDG uptake occurred within minutes and overlapped to a large extent with 18F-FDG data taken from longer uptake periods. By contrast, behavior which occurred within minutes of the 18F-FDG infusion differed markedly from the behavior that occurred during later uptake periods. Accordingly, we found that changes in 18F-FDG uptake in the striatum, motor cortex and cerebellum relative to different reference regions significantly predicted changes in behavioral activity during the scan, if the time bins used for correlation were near the injection times of 18F-FDG. However, when morphine was also injected during the scan, which completely abolished behavioral activity for over 50 min, a large proportion of the variance in behavioral activity was also explained by the uptake data from the entire scan. In anesthetized chickens, tracer uptake was complete in about 80 min with s.c. injection, but 8 min with i.v. injection. In conclusion, uptake time needs to be taken into account to more accurately correlate PET and behavioral data in mammals and avians. Additionally, RatCAP together with multiple, successive injections of 18F-FDG may be useful to explore changes in uptake over time in relation to changes in behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria E L Gold
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, United States.,Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States.,Department of Biology, Suffolk University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, United States
| | - Michael Budassi
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | - Paul Vaska
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States.,Department of Radiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States.,Biosciences Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, United States
| | - Daniela Schulz
- Department of Psychology, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey
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35
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Norell MA, Balanoff AM, Barta DE, Erickson GM. A Second Specimen ofCitipati OsmolskaeAssociated With a Nest of Eggs from Ukhaa Tolgod, Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia. American Museum Novitates 2018. [DOI: 10.1206/3899.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mark A. Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History
| | - Amy M. Balanoff
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University
| | - Daniel E. Barta
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History
| | - Gregory M. Erickson
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee
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36
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Pei R, Norell MA, Barta DE, Bever G, Pittman M, Xu X. Osteology of a New Late Cretaceous Troodontid Specimen from Ukhaa Tolgod, Ömnögovi Aimag, Mongolia. American Museum Novitates 2017. [DOI: 10.1206/3889.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rui Pei
- Department of Earth Sciences, the University of Hong Kong, and Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Macaulay Family Curator, Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York
| | - Daniel E. Barta
- Richard Gilder Graduate School and Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York
| | - G.S. Bever
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, and Center for Functional Anatomy & Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore
| | - Michael Pittman
- Vertebrate Palaeontology Laboratory, Department of Earth Sciences, the University of Hong Kong
| | - Xing Xu
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
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37
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Barta DE, Nesbitt SJ, Norell MA. The evolution of the manus of early theropod dinosaurs is characterized by high inter- and intraspecific variation. J Anat 2017; 232:80-104. [PMID: 29114853 PMCID: PMC5735062 DOI: 10.1111/joa.12719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The origin of the avian hand, with its reduced and fused carpals and digits, from the five‐fingered hands and complex wrists of early dinosaurs represents one of the major transformations of manus morphology among tetrapods. Much attention has been directed to the later part of this transition, from four‐ to three‐fingered taxa. However, earlier anatomical changes may have influenced these later modifications, possibly paving the way for a later frameshift in digit identities. We investigate the five‐ to four‐fingered transition among early dinosaurs, along with changes in carpus morphology. New three‐dimensional reconstructions from computed tomography data of the manus of the Triassic and Early Jurassic theropod dinosaurs Coelophysis bauri and Megapnosaurus rhodesiensis are described and compared intra‐ and interspecifically. Several novel findings emerge from these reconstructions and comparisons, including the first evidence of an ossified centrale and a free intermedium in some C. bauri specimens, as well as confirmation of the presence of a vestigial fifth metacarpal in this taxon. Additionally, a specimen of C. bauri and an unnamed coelophysoid from the Upper Triassic Hayden Quarry, New Mexico, are to our knowledge the only theropods (other than alvarezsaurs and birds) in which all of the distal carpals are completely fused together into a single unit. Several differences between the manus of C. bauri and M. rhodesiensis are also identified. We review the evolution of the archosauromorph manus more broadly in light of these new data, and caution against incorporating carpal characters in phylogenetic analyses of fine‐scale relationships of Archosauromorpha, in light of the high degree of observed polymorphism in taxa for which large sample sizes are available, such as the theropod Coelophysis and the sauropodomorph Plateosaurus. We also find that the reduction of the carpus and ultimate loss of the fourth and fifth digits among early dinosaurs did not proceed in a neat, stepwise fashion, but was characterized by multiple losses and possible gains of carpals, metacarpals and phalanges. Taken together, the high degree of intra‐ and interspecific variability in the number and identities of carpals, and the state of reduction of the fourth and fifth digits suggest the presence of a ‘zone of developmental variability’ in early dinosaur manus evolution, from which novel avian‐like morphologies eventually emerged and became channelized among later theropod clades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E Barta
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA.,Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sterling J Nesbitt
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Geosciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Mark A Norell
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA.,Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
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38
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Bever GS, Norell MA. A new rhynchocephalian (Reptilia: Lepidosauria) from the Late Jurassic of Solnhofen (Germany) and the origin of the marine Pleurosauridae. R Soc Open Sci 2017; 4:170570. [PMID: 29291055 PMCID: PMC5717629 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.170570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2017] [Accepted: 10/09/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
A new rhynchocephalian is described based on a recently discovered and well-preserved specimen from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) marine limestones of Solnhofen, Bavaria. Phylogenetic analysis recovers the new taxon as the sister group to Pleurosauridae, a small radiation of rhynchocephalians representing the oldest marine invasion of crown-clade Lepidosauria. The relatively strong evidence for this taxonomically exclusive lineage, within a generally volatile rhynchocephalian tree, places the new taxon in a position to inform the early history of the pleurosaur transition to the sea. The early steps in this transition are distributed throughout the skeleton and appear to increase hydrodynamic efficiency for both swimming and aquatic feeding. This early history may also have included a global truncation of plesiomorphic ontogenetic trajectories that left a number of skeletal features with reduced levels of ossification/fusion. The exact degree to which Vadasaurus had adopted an aquatic ecology remains unclear, but the insight it provides into the origin of the enigmatic pleurosaurs exemplifies the potential of Rhynchocephalia for generating and informing broad-based questions regarding the interplay of development, morphology, ecology and macroevolutionary patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel S. Bever
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA
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39
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Brusatte SL, Dumbravă M, Vremir M, Csiki-Sava Z, Totoianu R, Norell MA. A Catalog ofZalmoxes(Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) Specimens from the Upper Cretaceous Nălaţ-Vad Locality, Haţeg Basin, Romania. American Museum Novitates 2017. [DOI: 10.1206/3884.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Mihai Dumbravă
- Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Mátyás Vremir
- Department of Natural Sciences, Transylvanian Museum Society, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Zoltán Csiki-Sava
- Laboratory of Paleontology, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Radu Totoianu
- “Ioan Raica” Municipal Museum of Sebeş, Sebeş, Romania
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York
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40
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Pei R, Li Q, Meng Q, Norell MA, Gao KQ. New Specimens ofAnchiornis huxleyi(Theropoda: Paraves) from the Late Jurassic of Northeastern China. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2017. [DOI: 10.1206/0003-0090-411.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rui Pei
- Department of Earth Sciences, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History
| | - Quanguo Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing
| | | | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History
| | - Ke-Qin Gao
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing
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41
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Erickson GM, Zelenitsky DK, Kay DI, Norell MA. Dinosaur incubation periods directly determined from growth-line counts in embryonic teeth show reptilian-grade development. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:540-545. [PMID: 28049837 PMCID: PMC5255600 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1613716114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Birds stand out from other egg-laying amniotes by producing relatively small numbers of large eggs with very short incubation periods (average 11-85 d). This aspect promotes high survivorship by limiting exposure to predation and environmental perturbation, allows for larger more fit young, and facilitates rapid attainment of adult size. Birds are living dinosaurs; their rapid development has been considered to reflect the primitive dinosaurian condition. Here, nonavian dinosaurian incubation periods in both small and large ornithischian taxa are empirically determined through growth-line counts in embryonic teeth. Our results show unexpectedly slow incubation (2.8 and 5.8 mo) like those of outgroup reptiles. Developmental and physiological constraints would have rendered tooth formation and incubation inherently slow in other dinosaur lineages and basal birds. The capacity to determine incubation periods in extinct egg-laying amniotes has implications for dinosaurian embryology, life history strategies, and survivorship across the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction event.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory M Erickson
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4295;
| | - Darla K Zelenitsky
- Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4
| | - David Ian Kay
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4295
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024
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42
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Erickson GM, Makovicky PJ, Currie PJ, Norell MA, Yerby SA, Brochu CA. Correction: Corrigendum: Gigantism and comparative life-history parameters of tyrannosaurid dinosaurs. Nature 2016; 531:538. [DOI: 10.1038/nature16487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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43
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Gold MEL, Bourdon E, Norell MA. The first endocast of the extinct dodo (Raphus cucullatus) and an anatomical comparison amongst close relatives (Aves, Columbiformes). Zool J Linn Soc 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/zoj.12388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Eugenia Leone Gold
- Richard Gilder Graduate School; American Museum of Natural History; Central Park West at 79th Street New York NY 10024 USA
- Division of Paleontology; American Museum of Natural History; Central Park West at 79th Street New York NY 10024 USA
- Department of Anatomical Sciences; Stony Brook University; Health Sciences Center; Stony Brook NY 11794 USA
| | - Estelle Bourdon
- Section of Biosystematics; Natural History Museum of Denmark; University of Copenhagen; Universitetsparken 15 2100 Copenhagen Denmark
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Richard Gilder Graduate School; American Museum of Natural History; Central Park West at 79th Street New York NY 10024 USA
- Division of Paleontology; American Museum of Natural History; Central Park West at 79th Street New York NY 10024 USA
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44
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Norell MA, Barta DE. A New Specimen of the Ornithischian DinosaurHaya griva, Cross-Gobi Geologic Correlation, and the Age of The Zos Canyon Beds. American Museum Novitates 2016. [DOI: 10.1206/3851.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Chen J, Bever GS, Yi HY, Norell MA. A burrowing frog from the late Paleocene of Mongolia uncovers a deep history of spadefoot toads (Pelobatoidea) in East Asia. Sci Rep 2016; 6:19209. [PMID: 26750105 PMCID: PMC4707494 DOI: 10.1038/srep19209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2015] [Accepted: 12/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Fossils are indispensible in understanding the evolutionary origins of the modern fauna. Crown-group spadefoot toads (Anura: Pelobatoidea) are the best-known fossorial frog clade to inhabit arid environments, with species utilizing a characteristic bony spade on their foot for burrowing. Endemic to the Northern Hemisphere, they are distributed across the Holarctic except East Asia. Here we report a rare fossil of a crown-group spadefoot toad from the late Paleocene of Mongolia. The phylogenetic analysis using both morphological and molecular information recovered this Asian fossil inside the modern North American pelobatoid clade Scaphiopodidae. The presence of a spade and the phylogenetic position of the new fossil frog strongly support its burrowing behavior. The late Paleocene age and other information suggestive of a mild climate cast doubt on the conventional assertion that burrowing evolved as an adaptation to aridity in spadefoot toads. Temporally and geographically, the new fossil provides the earliest record of Scaphiopodidae worldwide, and the only member of the group in Asia. Quantitative biogeographic analysis suggests that Scaphiopodidae, despite originating in North America, dispersed into East Asia via Beringia in the Early Cenozoic. The absence of spadefoot toads in East Asia today is a result of extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianye Chen
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York 10025.,Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York 10024
| | - Gaberiel S Bever
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York 10024.,Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, New York 11568
| | - Hong-Yu Yi
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JW
| | - Mark A Norell
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York 10025.,Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York 10024
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Watanabe A, Eugenia Leone Gold M, Brusatte SL, Benson RBJ, Choiniere J, Davidson A, Norell MA. Vertebral Pneumaticity in the Ornithomimosaur Archaeornithomimus (Dinosauria: Theropoda) Revealed by Computed Tomography Imaging and Reappraisal of Axial Pneumaticity in Ornithomimosauria. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0145168. [PMID: 26682888 PMCID: PMC4684312 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2015] [Accepted: 11/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Among extant vertebrates, pneumatization of postcranial bones is unique to birds, with few known exceptions in other groups. Through reduction in bone mass, this feature is thought to benefit flight capacity in modern birds, but its prevalence in non-avian dinosaurs of variable sizes has generated competing hypotheses on the initial adaptive significance of postcranial pneumaticity. To better understand the evolutionary history of postcranial pneumaticity, studies have surveyed its distribution among non-avian dinosaurs. Nevertheless, the degree of pneumaticity in the basal coelurosaurian group Ornithomimosauria remains poorly known, despite their potential to greatly enhance our understanding of the early evolution of pneumatic bones along the lineage leading to birds. Historically, the identification of postcranial pneumaticity in non-avian dinosaurs has been based on examination of external morphology, and few studies thus far have focused on the internal architecture of pneumatic structures inside the bones. Here, we describe the vertebral pneumaticity of the ornithomimosaur Archaeornithomimus with the aid of X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging. Complementary examination of external and internal osteology reveals (1) highly pneumatized cervical vertebrae with an elaborate configuration of interconnected chambers within the neural arch and the centrum; (2) anterior dorsal vertebrae with pneumatic chambers inside the neural arch; (3) apneumatic sacral vertebrae; and (4) a subset of proximal caudal vertebrae with limited pneumatic invasion into the neural arch. Comparisons with other theropod dinosaurs suggest that ornithomimosaurs primitively exhibited a plesiomorphic theropod condition for axial pneumaticity that was extended among later taxa, such as Archaeornithomimus and large bodied Deinocheirus. This finding corroborates the notion that evolutionary increases in vertebral pneumaticity occurred in parallel among independent lineages of bird-line archosaurs. Beyond providing a comprehensive view of vertebral pneumaticity in a non-avian coelurosaur, this study demonstrates the utility and need of CT imaging for further clarifying the early evolutionary history of postcranial pneumaticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akinobu Watanabe
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Maria Eugenia Leone Gold
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America
| | | | - Roger B. J. Benson
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Jonah Choiniere
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Amy Davidson
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America
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Abstract
Modern snakes probably originated as habitat specialists, but it controversial unclear whether they were ancestrally terrestrial burrowers or marine swimmers. We used x-ray virtual models of the inner ear to predict the habit of Dinilysia patagonica, a stem snake closely related to the origin of modern snakes. Previous work has shown that modern snakes perceive substrate vibrations via their inner ear. Our data show that D. patagonica and modern burrowing squamates share a unique spherical vestibule in the inner ear, as compared with swimmers and habitat generalists. We built predictive models for snake habit based on their vestibular shape, which estimated D. patagonica and the hypothetical ancestor of crown snakes as burrowers with high probabilities. This study provides an extensive comparative data set to test fossoriality quantitatively in stem snakes, and it shows that burrowing was predominant in the lineages leading to modern crown snakes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongyu Yi
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, James Hutton Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FE, UK
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West and 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Corresponding author. E-mail:
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West and 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA
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Hill RV, D'Emic MD, Bever GS, Norell MA. A complex hyobranchial apparatus in a Cretaceous dinosaur and the antiquity of avian paraglossalia. Zool J Linn Soc 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/zoj.12293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Robert V. Hill
- Department of Anatomy; New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine; Northern Boulevard Old Westbury NY 11568-8000 USA
| | - Michael D. D'Emic
- Department of Anatomical Sciences; Stony Brook University; HSC-T8, Room 040 Stony Brook NY 11794-8081 USA
| | - G. S. Bever
- Department of Anatomy; New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine; Northern Boulevard Old Westbury NY 11568-8000 USA
- Division of Paleontology; American Museum of Natural History; New York NY 10024 USA
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of Paleontology; American Museum of Natural History; New York NY 10024 USA
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Abstract
Embryonic remains within a small (4.75 by 2.23 cm) egg from the Late Cretaceous, Mongolia are here re-described. High-resolution X-ray computed tomography (HRCT) was used to digitally prepare and describe the enclosed embryonic bones. The egg, IGM (Mongolian Institute for Geology, Ulaanbaatar) 100/2010, with a three-part shell microstructure, was originally assigned to Neoceratopsia implying extensive homoplasy among eggshell characters across Dinosauria. Re-examination finds the forelimb significantly longer than the hindlimbs, proportions suggesting an avian identification. Additional, postcranial apomorphies (strut-like coracoid, cranially located humeral condyles, olecranon fossa, slender radius relative to the ulna, trochanteric crest on the femur, and ulna longer than the humerus) identify the embryo as avian. Presence of a dorsal coracoid fossa and a craniocaudally compressed distal humerus with a strongly angled distal margin support a diagnosis of IGM 100/2010 as an enantiornithine. Re-identification eliminates the implied homoplasy of this tri-laminate eggshell structure, and instead associates enantiornithine birds with eggshell microstructure composed of a mammillary, squamatic, and external zones. Posture of the embryo follows that of other theropods with fore- and hindlimbs folded parallel to the vertebral column and the elbow pointing caudally just dorsal to the knees. The size of the egg and embryo of IGM 100/2010 is similar to the two other Mongolian enantiornithine eggs. Well-ossified skeletons, as in this specimen, characterize all known enantiornithine embryos suggesting precocial hatchlings, comparing closely to late stage embryos of modern precocial birds that are both flight- and run-capable upon hatching. Extensive ossification in enantiornithine embryos may contribute to their relatively abundant representation in the fossil record. Neoceratopsian eggs remain unrecognized in the fossil record.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J. Varricchio
- Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, 59717, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Amy M. Balanoff
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, United States of America
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, 10024, United States of America
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Erickson GM, Sidebottom MA, Kay DI, Turner KT, Ip N, Norell MA, Sawyer WG, Krick BA. Wear biomechanics in the slicing dentition of the giant horned dinosaur Triceratops. Sci Adv 2015; 1:e1500055. [PMID: 26601198 PMCID: PMC4640618 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1500055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2015] [Accepted: 04/21/2015] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Herbivorous reptiles rarely evolve occluding dentitions that allow for the mastication (chewing) of plant matter. Conversely, most herbivorous mammals have occluding teeth with complex tissue architectures that self-wear to complex morphologies for orally processing plants. Dinosaurs stand out among reptiles in that several lineages acquired the capacity to masticate. In particular, the horned ceratopsian dinosaurs, among the most successful Late Cretaceous dinosaurian lineages, evolved slicing dentitions for the exploitation of tough, bulky plant matter. We show how Triceratops, a 9-m-long ceratopsian, and its relatives evolved teeth that wore during feeding to create fullers (recessed central regions on cutting blades) on the chewing surfaces. This unique morphology served to reduce friction during feeding. It was achieved through the evolution of a complex suite of osseous dental tissues rivaling the complexity of mammalian dentitions. Tribological (wear) properties of the tissues are preserved in ~66-million-year-old teeth, allowing the creation of a sophisticated three-dimensional biomechanical wear model that reveals how the complexes synergistically wore to create these implements. These findings, along with similar discoveries in hadrosaurids (duck-billed dinosaurs), suggest that tissue-mediated changes in dental morphology may have played a major role in the remarkable ecological diversification of these clades and perhaps other dinosaurian clades capable of mastication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory M. Erickson
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, 319 Stadium Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32306–4295, USA
| | - Mark A. Sidebottom
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lehigh University, 19 Memorial Drive West, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA
| | - David I. Kay
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, 319 Stadium Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32306–4295, USA
| | - Kevin T. Turner
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Nathan Ip
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - W. Gregory Sawyer
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, 328 Mechanical Engineering Building, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Brandon A. Krick
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lehigh University, 19 Memorial Drive West, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA
- Corresponding author. E-mail:
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