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Pinheiro FL, Pretto FA, Kerber L. The dawn of an Era: New contributions on comparative and functional anatomy of Triassic tetrapods. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024; 307:713-721. [PMID: 38344876 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [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] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/16/2024]
Abstract
The Triassic period stands as a crucial moment for understanding tetrapod evolution, marking the emergence and early diversification of numerous lineages that persist in today's ecosystems. Birds, crocodiles, testudines, lizards, and mammals can all trace their origins to the Triassic, which is distinguished by several adaptive radiation events that fostered unparalleled diversity in body plans and lifestyles. Beyond this macroevolutionary significance, the Triassic period serves as fertile ground for scientific inquiry, especially in tetrapod studies. The aim of this Special Issue is to assemble a diverse array of new contributions focused on continental Triassic tetrapods globally, encouraging collaboration among researchers across generations, pooling their efforts to comprehend this pivotal moment in tetrapod evolutionary history. This issue encompasses almost 40 varied contributions, spanning topics from comparative and functional anatomy, including descriptions of novel taxa, comprehensive anatomical reviews, systematic investigations, phylogenetic analyses, paleoneurological studies, biomechanical assessments, and detailed examinations of histology and ontogeny. Collectively, this Special Issue offers an extensive exploration of Triassic tetrapods from anatomical, ecological, and evolutionary perspectives, unveiling fresh insights into this intriguing moment in vertebrate evolutionary history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe L Pinheiro
- Laboratório de Paleobiologia, Universidade Federal do Pampa, São Gabriel, Brazil
| | - Flávio A Pretto
- Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (CAPPA/UFSM), São João do Polêsine, Brazil
| | - Leonardo Kerber
- Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (CAPPA/UFSM), São João do Polêsine, Brazil
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Cui Y, Bardin J, Wipfler B, Demers-Potvin A, Bai M, Tong YJ, Chen GN, Chen H, Zhao ZY, Ren D, Béthoux O. A winged relative of ice-crawlers in amber bridges the cryptic extant Xenonomia and a rich fossil record. Insect Sci 2024. [PMID: 38454304 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.13338] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Until the advent of phylogenomics, the atypical morphology of extant representatives of the insect orders Grylloblattodea (ice-crawlers) and Mantophasmatodea (gladiators) had confounding effects on efforts to resolve their placement within Polyneoptera. This recent research has unequivocally shown that these species-poor groups are closely related and form the clade Xenonomia. Nonetheless, divergence dates of these groups remain poorly constrained, and their evolutionary history debated, as the few well-identified fossils, characterized by a suite of morphological features similar to that of extant forms, are comparatively young. Notably, the extant forms of both groups are wingless, whereas most of the pre-Cretaceous insect fossil record is composed of winged insects, which represents a major shortcoming of the taxonomy. Here, we present new specimens embedded in mid-Cretaceous amber from Myanmar and belonging to the recently described species Aristovia daniili. The abundant material and pristine preservation allowed a detailed documentation of the morphology of the species, including critical head features. Combined with a morphological data set encompassing all Polyneoptera, these new data unequivocally demonstrate that A. daniili is a winged stem Grylloblattodea. This discovery demonstrates that winglessness was acquired independently in Grylloblattodea and Mantophasmatodea. Concurrently, wing apomorphic traits shared by the new fossil and earlier fossils demonstrate that a large subset of the former "Protorthoptera" assemblage, representing a third of all known insect species in some Permian localities, are genuine representatives of Xenonomia. Data from the fossil record depict a distinctive evolutionary trajectory, with the group being both highly diverse and abundant during the Permian but experiencing a severe decline from the Triassic onwards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingying Cui
- College of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jérémie Bardin
- CR2P (Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris), MNHN - CNRS - Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Benjamin Wipfler
- MorphoLab, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of the Biodiversity Change, Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Ming Bai
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yi-Jie Tong
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Grace Nuoxi Chen
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Huarong Chen
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhen-Ya Zhao
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Dong Ren
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Olivier Béthoux
- CR2P (Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris), MNHN - CNRS - Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
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McLoughlin S, Santos AA. Excavating the fossil record for evidence of leaf mining. New Phytol 2024. [PMID: 38429864 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Stephen McLoughlin
- Department of Paleobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, S-104 05, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Artai A Santos
- Department of Paleobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, S-104 05, Stockholm, Sweden
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Zhou Y, Pan Y, Wang M, Wang X, Zheng X, Zhou Z. Fossil evidence sheds light on sexual selection during the early evolution of birds. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2309825120. [PMID: 38190528 PMCID: PMC10801838 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2309825120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The impact of sexual selection on the evolution of birds has been widely acknowledged. Although sexual selection has been hypothesized as a driving force in the occurrences of numerous morphological features across theropod evolution, this hypothesis has yet to be comprehensively tested due to challenges in identifying the sex of fossils and by the limited sample size. Confuciusornis sanctus is arguably the best-known early avialan and is represented by thousands of well-preserved specimens from the Early Cretaceous Jehol lagerstätte, which provides us with a chance to decipher the strength of sexual selection on extinct vertebrates. Herein, we present a morphometric study of C. sanctus based on the largest sample size of this taxon collected up to now. Our results indicate that the characteristic elongated paired rectrices is a sexually dimorphic trait and statistically robust inferences of the sexual dimorphism in size, shape, and allometry that have been established, providing the earliest known sexual dimorphism in avian evolution. Our findings suggest that sexual selection, in conjunction with natural selection, does act upon body size and limb length ratio in early birds, thereby promoting a deeper understanding of the role of sexual selection in large-scale phylogenetic evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yibo Zhou
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Centre for Research and Education on Biological Evolution and Environment and Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Nanjing University, Nanjing210023, China
| | - Yanhong Pan
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Centre for Research and Education on Biological Evolution and Environment and Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Nanjing University, Nanjing210023, China
| | - Min Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100044, China
| | - Xiaoli Wang
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi276000, Shandong, China
- Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi273300, Shandong, China
| | - Xiaoting Zheng
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi276000, Shandong, China
- Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi273300, Shandong, China
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100044, China
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Sakala J. Fossil Wood Analyses: Several Examples from Five Case Studies in the Area of Central and NW Bohemia, Czech Republic. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2722:89-104. [PMID: 37897602 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3477-6_7] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/30/2023]
Abstract
In the area of the Central and NW Bohemia, Czech Republic, the fossil wood is quite abundant, found in different states of preservation and present from Paleozoic (Pennsylvanian), through Mesozoic (Upper Cretaceous), to Cenozoic (upper Eocene to lower Miocene). So, this small area is ideal to demonstrate various aspects of the fossil wood analyses, including anatomy (unifacial vs. bifacial cambium, formation of tyloses and its significance, early vs. late wood, unambiguity of scientific terminology, stem vs. root wood), taphonomy (completeness of fossil record, influence of environment on mode of preservation, influence of preservation on wood anatomy and preservation potential, discrepancy between the record of wood and other organs), systematics (stem vs. crown group, wide concept of fossil wood genera, "mosaic" species, wood of extinct plants), and palaeoclimatic reconstruction (definition of "wood type," subjective vs. objective methods). The majority of the studied woods were thin-sectioned following the standard techniques and observed with a compound light microscope.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Sakala
- Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
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Ezcurra MD, Bandyopadhyay S, Sengupta DP, Sen K, Sennikov AG, Sookias RB, Nesbitt SJ, Butler RJ. A new archosauriform species from the Panchet Formation of India and the diversification of Proterosuchidae after the end-Permian mass extinction. R Soc Open Sci 2023; 10:230387. [PMID: 37885992 PMCID: PMC10598453 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230387] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Proterosuchidae represents the oldest substantial diversification of Archosauromorpha and plays a key role in understanding the biotic recovery after the end-Permian mass extinction. Proterosuchidae was long treated as a wastebasket taxon, but recent revisions have reduced its taxonomic content to five valid species from the latest Permian of Russia and the earliest Triassic (Induan) of South Africa and China. In addition to these occurrences, several isolated proterosuchid bones have been reported from the Induan Panchet Formation of India for over 150 years. Following the re-study of historical specimens and newly collected material from this unit, we erect the new proterosuchid species Samsarasuchus pamelae, which is represented by most of the presacral vertebral column. We also describe cf. proterosuchid and proterosuchid cranial, girdle and limb bones that are not referred to Samsarasuchus pamelae. Phylogenetic analyses recovered Samsarasuchus pamelae within the new proterosuchid clade Chasmatosuchinae. The taxonomic diversity of Proterosuchidae is substantially expanded here, with at least 11 nominal species and several currently unnamed specimens, and a biogeographical range encompassing present-day South Africa, China, Russia, India, Brazil, Uruguay and Australia. This indicates a broader taxonomic, phylogenetic and biogeographic diversification of Proterosuchidae than previously thought in the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martín D. Ezcurra
- Sección Paleontología de Vertebrados, CONICET−Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK
| | - Saswati Bandyopadhyay
- Geological Studies Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, 203 B. T. Road, Kolkata 700108, India
| | - Dhurjati P. Sengupta
- Geological Studies Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, 203 B. T. Road, Kolkata 700108, India
| | - Kasturi Sen
- Geological Studies Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, 203 B. T. Road, Kolkata 700108, India
| | | | - Roland B. Sookias
- Evolution and Diversity Dynamics laboratory, Département de Géologie, Université de Liège, Liege, Belgium
| | | | - Richard J. Butler
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK
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Liu QL, Cheng L, Stubbs TL, Moon BC, Benton MJ, Yan CB, Tian L. Rapid neck elongation in Sauropterygia (Reptilia: Diapsida) revealed by a new basal pachypleurosaur from the Lower Triassic of China. BMC Ecol Evol 2023; 23:44. [PMID: 37648992 PMCID: PMC10469986 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-023-02150-w] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Neck elongation has appeared independently in several tetrapod groups, including giraffes and sauropod dinosaurs on land, birds and pterosaurs in the air, and sauropterygians (plesiosaurs and relatives) in the oceans. Long necks arose in Early Triassic sauropterygians, but the nature and rate of that elongation has not been documented. Here, we report a new species of pachypleurosaurid sauropterygian, Chusaurus xiangensis gen. et sp. nov., based on two new specimens from the Early Triassic Nanzhang-Yuan'an Fauna in the South China Block. The new species shows key features of its Middle Triassic relatives, but has a relatively short neck, measuring 0.48 of the trunk length, compared to > 0.8 from the Middle Triassic onwards. Comparative phylogenetic analysis shows that neck elongation occurred rapidly in all Triassic eosauropterygian lineages, probably driven by feeding pressure in a time of rapid re-establishment of new kinds of marine ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi-Ling Liu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Paleontology and Geological Environment Evolution, Wuhan Centre of China Geological Survey, Wuhan, 430023, P. R. China
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei, 430078, P. R. China
| | - Long Cheng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Paleontology and Geological Environment Evolution, Wuhan Centre of China Geological Survey, Wuhan, 430023, P. R. China.
| | - Thomas L Stubbs
- School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
- School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - Benjamin C Moon
- School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Michael J Benton
- School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Chun-Bo Yan
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Paleontology and Geological Environment Evolution, Wuhan Centre of China Geological Survey, Wuhan, 430023, P. R. China
| | - Li Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei, 430078, P. R. China.
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Li Y, Ebihara A, Nosova N, Tan ZZ, Cui YM. First Fossil Record of Trichomanes sensu lato (Hymenophyllaceae) from the Mid-Cretaceous Kachin Amber, Myanmar. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:1709. [PMID: 37629566 PMCID: PMC10455793 DOI: 10.3390/life13081709] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Revised: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Hymenophyllaceae (filmy ferns), with ca. 430 species, are the most species-rich family of early diverging leptosporangiate ferns but have a poor fossil record dating back to the Late Triassic period. Traditionally, Hymenophyllaceae comprise two species-rich genera or clades: Hymenophyllum (hymenophylloids) and Trichomanes sensu lato (s.l.) (trichomanoids). Unequivocal fossils of Hymenophyllum have been reported from the Early Cretaceous of central Mongolia and the early Eocene of Okanogan Highlands, Washington, USA. However, despite being a highly diversified lineage with an estimated 184 extant species, Trichomanes s.l. lack a definitive fossil record, which severely affects the reliability of the molecular dating of this group. Here, we report the first unequivocal fossil record of Trichomanes s.l. as T. angustum comb. nov. on the basis of fertile material with tubular involucres and long exserted receptacles from the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber, Myanmar. This species was previously tentatively assigned to Hymenophyllites due to a lack of fertile evidence. Inferred to be an epiphytic fern, T. angustum further enriches the species diversity of the epiphytic palaeocommunities in the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber, which are mainly composed of Porellalean leafy liverworts and Dicranalean and Hypnodendralean mosses. Fossil records indicate that Hymenophyllaceae probably originated in the tropical Pangea at the latest in the Triassic when all continents were coalesced into a single landmass and had already accumulated some notable diversity in low-middle latitude areas of Laurasia by the mid-Cretaceous period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ya Li
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Atsushi Ebihara
- Department of Botany, National Museum of Nature and Science, 4-1-1 Amakubo, Tsukuba 305-0005, Japan;
| | - Natalya Nosova
- Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Popova Str. 2, Saint Petersburg 197376, Russia;
| | - Zhen-Zhen Tan
- College of Agro-Grassland Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China;
| | - Yi-Ming Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- Lushan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, China
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Fang ZC, Li JL, Yan CB, Zou YR, Tian L, Zhao B, Benton MJ, Cheng L, Lai XL. First filter feeding in the Early Triassic: cranial morphological convergence between Hupehsuchus and baleen whales. BMC Ecol Evol 2023; 23:36. [PMID: 37550649 PMCID: PMC10408079 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-023-02143-9] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Modern baleen whales are unique as large-sized filter feeders, but their roles were replicated much earlier by diverse marine reptiles of the Mesozoic. Here, we investigate convergence in skull morphology between modern baleen whales and one of the earliest marine reptiles, the basal ichthyosauromorph Hupehsuchus nanchangensis, from the Early Triassic, a time of rapid recovery of life following profound mass extinction. Two new specimens reveal the skull morphology especially in dorsal view. The snout of Hupehsuchus is highly convergent with modern baleen whales, as shown in a morphometric analysis including 130 modern aquatic amniotes. Convergences in the snout include the unfused upper jaw, specialized intermediate space in the divided premaxilla and grooves around the labial margin. Hupehsuchus had enlarged its buccal cavity to enable efficient filter feeding and probably used soft tissues like baleen to expel the water from the oral cavity. Coordinated with the rigid trunk and pachyostotic ribs suggests low speeds of aquatic locomotion, Hupehsuchus probably employed continuous ram filter feeding as in extant bowhead and right whales. The Early Triassic palaeoenvironment of a restrictive lagoon with low productivity drove Hupehsuchus to feed on zooplankton, which facilitated ecosystem recovery in the Nanzhang-Yuan'an Fauna at the beginning of the Mesozoic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zi-Chen Fang
- School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, P. R. China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Paleontology and Geological Environment Evolution, Wuhan Center of China Geological Survey, Wuhan, 430205, P. R. China
| | - Jiang-Li Li
- Hubei Institute of Geosciences, Hubei Geological Bureau, Wuhan, 430034, P. R. China
| | - Chun-Bo Yan
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Paleontology and Geological Environment Evolution, Wuhan Center of China Geological Survey, Wuhan, 430205, P. R. China
| | - Ya-Rui Zou
- Hubei Institute of Geosciences, Hubei Geological Bureau, Wuhan, 430034, P. R. China
| | - Li Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430078, P. R. China
| | - Bi Zhao
- Hubei Institute of Geosciences, Hubei Geological Bureau, Wuhan, 430034, P. R. China
| | - Michael J Benton
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Long Cheng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Paleontology and Geological Environment Evolution, Wuhan Center of China Geological Survey, Wuhan, 430205, P. R. China.
| | - Xu-Long Lai
- School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, P. R. China
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Elgorriaga A, Atkinson BA. Zirabia cylindrica comb. nov. provides evidence of Doyleales in the Jurassic. Am J Bot 2023:e16182. [PMID: 37272508 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16182] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE In recent years, Doyleales have played an important role in the discussion and exploration of seed plant relationships and the origin of angiosperms. This order comprises a diversity of recently described genera with cupule-bearing compound ovulate cones recovered from Early Cretaceous deposits in North America and Asia. Their relatively late appearance in the fossil record, stratigraphically near the appearance of angiosperms in the Early Cretaceous, has been noteworthy. Here, we report a new genus of Doyleales, Zirabia gen. nov. from the Early Jurassic of Iran, that was originally described as the ginkgophyte Karkenia. METHODS We reinvestigated material previously assigned to Karkenia cylindrica from the Lower Jurassic of the Zirab locality, Alborz Mountains, northern Iran. RESULTS The studied specimen features a main axis bearing helically to irregularly arranged bract-cupule complexes, each composed by a long laminar bract subtending and sheathing a cupule stalk that bears a single-seeded cupule with a dorsal protrusion. The morphological features of this taxon do not conform with those of Karkenia, and suggest affinities with Doyleales rather than Ginkgoales. Within Doyleales, this fossil has a unique combination of characters indicating that it is a new genus within the order; thus, a new combination is erected, Zirabia cylindrica. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that Doyleales is significantly older than previously thought, with their stratigraphic range now extending from the Lower Jurassic to the Cretaceous. The Early Jurassic occurrence of Doyleales provides important data on the emergence of seed-enclosing structures seen in seed plants throughout the Mesozoic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andres Elgorriaga
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 66045, USA
- Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 66045, USA
| | - Brian A Atkinson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 66045, USA
- Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 66045, USA
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Chapelle KEJ, Botha J, Choiniere JN. Osteohistology reveals the smallest adult Jurassic sauropodomorph. R Soc Open Sci 2023; 10:221565. [PMID: 37325591 PMCID: PMC10265025 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.221565] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The earliest sauropodomorphs were small omnivores (less than 10 kg) that first appeared in the Carnian. By the Hettangian, early branching sauropodomorphs (EBSMs) were globally distributed, had variable postures, and some attained large body masses (greater than 10 tonnes). Small-bodied EBSMs like Massospondylus carinatus (less than 550 kg) persist at least until the Pliensbachian at nearly all dinosaur-bearing localities worldwide but are comparatively low in alpha diversity. One potential reason for this is competition with other similarly sized contemporary amniotes, including Triassic gomphodont cynodonts, Jurassic early branching ornithischians, herbivorous theropods and potentially early crocodylomorphs. Today's herbivorous mammals show a range of body size classes (less than 10 g to 7 tonnes), with multiple species of small herbivorous mammals (less than 100 kg) frequently co-occurring. Comparatively, our understanding of the phylogenetic distribution of body mass in Early Jurassic strata, and its explanatory power for the lower thresholds of body mass in EBSMs, needs more data. We osteohistologically sectioned a small humerus, BP/1/4732, from the upper Elliot Formation of South Africa. Its comparative morphology and osteohistology show that it represents a skeletally mature individual of a new sauropodomorph taxon with a body mass of approx. 75.35 kg. This makes it one of the smallest known sauropodomorph taxa, and the smallest ever reported from a Jurassic stratum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberley E. J. Chapelle
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa
| | - Jennifer Botha
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa
- GENUS Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa
| | - Jonah N. Choiniere
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa
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Jambura PL, Villalobos-Segura E, Türtscher J, Begat A, Staggl MA, Stumpf S, Kindlimann R, Klug S, Lacombat F, Pohl B, Maisey JG, Naylor GJP, Kriwet J. Systematics and Phylogenetic Interrelationships of the Enigmatic Late Jurassic Shark Protospinax annectans Woodward, 1918 with Comments on the Shark-Ray Sister Group Relationship. Diversity (Basel) 2023; 15:311. [PMID: 36950326 PMCID: PMC7614347 DOI: 10.3390/d15030311] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
Abstract
The Late Jurassic elasmobranch Protospinax annectans is often regarded as a key species to our understanding of crown group elasmobranch interrelationships and the evolutionary history of this group. However, since its first description more than 100 years ago, its phylogenetic position within the Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) has proven controversial, and a closer relationship between Protospinax and each of the posited superorders (Batomorphii, Squalomorphii, and Galeomorphii) has been proposed over the time. Here we revise this controversial taxon based on new holomorphic specimens from the Late Jurassic Konservat-Lagerstätte of the Solnhofen Archipelago in Bavaria (Germany) and review its skeletal morphology, systematics, and phylogenetic interrelationships. A data matrix with 224 morphological characters was compiled and analyzed under a molecular backbone constraint. Our results indicate a close relationship between Protospinax, angel sharks (Squatiniformes), and saw sharks (Pristiophoriformes). However, the revision of our morphological data matrix within a molecular framework highlights the lack of morphological characters defining certain groups, especially sharks of the order Squaliformes, hampering the phylogenetic resolution of Protospinax annectans with certainty. Furthermore, the monophyly of modern sharks retrieved by molecular studies is only weakly supported by morphological data, stressing the need for more characters to align morphological and molecular studies in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick L. Jambura
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Vienna Doctoral School of Ecology and Evolution (VDSEE), University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Correspondence:
| | | | - Julia Türtscher
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Vienna Doctoral School of Ecology and Evolution (VDSEE), University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Arnaud Begat
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Vienna Doctoral School of Ecology and Evolution (VDSEE), University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Manuel Andreas Staggl
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Vienna Doctoral School of Ecology and Evolution (VDSEE), University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Sebastian Stumpf
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - René Kindlimann
- Haimuseum und Sammlung R. Kindlimann, 8607 Aathal-Seegräben, Switzerland
| | - Stefanie Klug
- School of Science (GAUSS), Georg–August Universität Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Burkhard Pohl
- Interprospekt Group, 1724 Ferpicloz, Switzerland
- Wyoming Dinosaur Center, Thermopolis, WY 82443, USA
| | - John G. Maisey
- Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, American Natural History Museum, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Gavin J. P. Naylor
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Jürgen Kriwet
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Vienna Doctoral School of Ecology and Evolution (VDSEE), University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria
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Wikström N, Larsén E, Khodabandeh A, Rydin C. No phylogenomic support for a Cenozoic origin of the "living fossil" Isoetes. Am J Bot 2023; 110:e16108. [PMID: 36401556 PMCID: PMC10108322 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16108] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2022] [Revised: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE The isoetalean lineage has a rich fossil record that extends to the Devonian, but the age of the living clade is unclear. Recent results indicate that it is young, from the Cenozoic, whereas earlier work based on less data from a denser taxon sampling yielded Mesozoic median ages. METHODS We analyzed node ages in Isoetes using two genomic data sets (plastome and nuclear ribosomal cistron), three clock models implemented in MrBayes (ILN, WN, and TK02 models), and a conservative approach to calibration. RESULTS While topological results were consistently resolved in Isoetes estimated crown group ages range from the latest Paleozoic (mid-Permian) to the Mesozoic depending on data type and clock model. The oldest estimates were retrieved using the autocorrelated TK02 clock model. An (early) Cenozoic age was only obtained under one specific condition (plastome data analyzed with the uncorrelated ILN clock model). That same plastome data set also yielded the oldest (mid-Permian) age estimate when analyzed with the autocorrelated TK02 clock model. Adding the highly divergent, recently established sister species Isoetes wormaldii to the data set approximately doubled the average median node depth to the Isoetes crown group. CONCLUSIONS There is no consistent support for a Cenozoic origin of the living clade Isoetes. We obtained seemingly well-founded, yet strongly deviating results depending on data type and clock model. The single most important future improvement is probably to add calibration points, which requires an improved understanding of the isoetalean fossil record or alternative bases for calibration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niklas Wikström
- Bergius Foundation, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Box 50005SE‐104 05StockholmSweden
- Department of Ecology, Environment, and Plant SciencesStockholm UniversitySE‐106 91StockholmSweden
| | - Eva Larsén
- Department of Ecology, Environment, and Plant SciencesStockholm UniversitySE‐106 91StockholmSweden
| | - Anbar Khodabandeh
- Bergius Foundation, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Box 50005SE‐104 05StockholmSweden
- Department of Ecology, Environment, and Plant SciencesStockholm UniversitySE‐106 91StockholmSweden
| | - Catarina Rydin
- Bergius Foundation, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Box 50005SE‐104 05StockholmSweden
- Department of Ecology, Environment, and Plant SciencesStockholm UniversitySE‐106 91StockholmSweden
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Xu C, Wang B, Wappler T, Chen J, Kopylov D, Fang Y, Jarzembowski EA, Zhang H, Engel MS. High acoustic diversity and behavioral complexity of katydids in the Mesozoic soundscape. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2210601119. [PMID: 36508660 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2210601119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Acoustic communication has played a key role in the evolution of a wide variety of vertebrates and insects. However, the reconstruction of ancient acoustic signals is challenging due to the extreme rarity of fossilized organs. Here, we report the earliest tympanal ears and sound-producing system (stridulatory apparatus) found in exceptionally preserved Mesozoic katydids. We present a database of the stridulatory apparatus and wing morphology of Mesozoic katydids and further calculate their probable singing frequencies and analyze the evolution of their acoustic communication. Our suite of analyses demonstrates that katydids evolved complex acoustic communication including mating signals, intermale communication, and directional hearing, at least by the Middle Jurassic. Additionally, katydids evolved a high diversity of singing frequencies including high-frequency musical calls, accompanied by acoustic niche partitioning at least by the Late Triassic, suggesting that acoustic communication might have been an important driver in the early radiation of these insects. The Early-Middle Jurassic katydid transition from Haglidae- to Prophalangopsidae-dominated faunas coincided with the diversification of derived mammalian clades and improvement of hearing in early mammals, supporting the hypothesis of the acoustic coevolution of mammals and katydids. Our findings not only highlight the ecological significance of insects in the Mesozoic soundscape but also contribute to our understanding of how acoustic communication has influenced animal evolution.
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Surmik D, Słowiak-Morkovina J, Szczygielski T, Kamaszewski M, Kalita S, Teschner EM, Dróżdż D, Duda P, Rothschild BM, Konietzko-Meier D. An insight into cancer palaeobiology: does the Mesozoic neoplasm support tissue organization field theory of tumorigenesis? BMC Ecol Evol 2022; 22:143. [PMID: 36513967 PMCID: PMC9746082 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-022-02098-3] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neoplasms are common across the animal kingdom and seem to be a feature plesiomorphic for metazoans, related with an increase in somatic complexity. The fossil record of cancer complements our knowledge of the origin of neoplasms and vulnerability of various vertebrate taxa. Here, we document the first undoubted record of primary malignant bone tumour in a Mesozoic non-amniote. The diagnosed osteosarcoma developed in the vertebral intercentrum of a temnospondyl amphibian, Metoposaurus krasiejowensis from the Krasiejów locality, southern Poland. RESULTS A wide array of data collected from gross anatomy, histology, and microstructure of the affected intercentrum reveals the tumour growth dynamics and pathophysiological aspects of the neoplasm formation on the histological level. The pathological process almost exclusively pertains to the periosteal part of the bone composed from a highly vascularised tissue with lamellar matrix. The unorganised arrangement of osteocyte lacunae observed in the tissue is characteristic for bone tissue types connected with static osteogenesis, and not for lamellar bone. The neoplastic bone mimics on the structural level the fast growing fibrolamellar bone, but on the histological level develops through a novel ossification type. The physiological process of bone remodelling inside the endochondral domain continued uninterrupted across the pathology of the periosteal part. CONCLUSIONS Based on the results, we discuss our case study's consistence with the Tissue Organization Field Theory of tumorigenesis, which locates the causes of neoplastic transformations in disorders of tissue architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dawid Surmik
- grid.11866.380000 0001 2259 4135Institute of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia, Będzińska 60, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland
| | - Justyna Słowiak-Morkovina
- grid.413454.30000 0001 1958 0162Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Tomasz Szczygielski
- grid.413454.30000 0001 1958 0162Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Maciej Kamaszewski
- grid.13276.310000 0001 1955 7966Institute of Animal Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Ciszewskiego 8, 02-786 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Sudipta Kalita
- grid.10388.320000 0001 2240 3300Institute of Geosciences, Section Paleontology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Elżbieta M. Teschner
- grid.10388.320000 0001 2240 3300Institute of Geosciences, Section Paleontology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany ,grid.107891.60000 0001 1010 7301Institute of Biology, University of Opole, Oleska 22, 45-052 Opole, Poland
| | - Dawid Dróżdż
- grid.413454.30000 0001 1958 0162Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Piotr Duda
- grid.11866.380000 0001 2259 4135Faculty of Exact and Technical Sciences, University of Silesia, Będzińska 39, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland
| | - Bruce M. Rothschild
- grid.420557.10000 0001 2110 2178Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 4400 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15215 USA
| | - Dorota Konietzko-Meier
- grid.10388.320000 0001 2240 3300Institute of Geosciences, Section Paleontology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany
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Wang M, Stidham TA, O'Connor JK, Zhou Z. Insight into the evolutionary assemblage of cranial kinesis from a Cretaceous bird. eLife 2022; 11:e81337. [PMID: 36469022 PMCID: PMC9721616 DOI: 10.7554/elife.81337] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/07/2022] Open
Abstract
The independent movements and flexibility of various parts of the skull, called cranial kinesis, are an evolutionary innovation that is found in living vertebrates only in some squamates and crown birds and is considered to be a major factor underpinning much of the enormous phenotypic and ecological diversity of living birds, the most diverse group of extant amniotes. Compared to the postcranium, our understanding of the evolutionary assemblage of the characteristic modern bird skull has been hampered by sparse fossil records of early cranial materials, with competing hypotheses regarding the evolutionary development of cranial kinesis among early members of the avialans. Here, a detailed three-dimensional reconstruction of the skull of the Early Cretaceous enantiornithine Yuanchuavis kompsosoura allows for its in-depth description, including elements that are poorly known among early-diverging avialans but are central to deciphering the mosaic assembly of features required for modern avian cranial kinesis. Our reconstruction of the skull shows evolutionary and functional conservation of the temporal and palatal regions by retaining the ancestral theropod dinosaurian configuration within the skull of this otherwise derived and volant bird. Geometric morphometric analysis of the palatine suggests that loss of the jugal process represents the first step in the structural modifications of this element leading to the kinetic crown bird condition. The mixture of plesiomorphic temporal and palatal structures together with a derived avialan rostrum and postcranial skeleton encapsulated in Yuanchuavis manifests the key role of evolutionary mosaicism and experimentation in early bird diversification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Thomas A Stidham
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | | | - Zhonghe Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
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Skawiński T. Rediscovery and redescription of the only known mosasaur bone from the Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) of Poland. PeerJ 2022; 10:e14278. [PMID: 36320565 PMCID: PMC9618259 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Mosasaur remains from Poland are very rare and are restricted mostly to the Campanian and Maastrichtian. The only currently known pre-Campanian records come from the Turonian strata in the Opole area, southwestern Poland. One of them is a single tooth which probably belongs to a yaguarasaurine while the other is an incomplete vertebra, for many years considered lost. The latter specimen has recently been found and is redescribed in this article. Its most characteristic feature is a strong dorsoventral compression of the articular surfaces. This is similar to the condition observed in basal mosasauroids such as halisaurines and tethysaurines. Unfortunately, due to its incompleteness, the rediscovered specimen cannot be confidently referred to any of these clades and can only be described as a probable non-mosasaurine, non-plioplatecarpine, non-tylosaurine mosasauroid. Despite its uncertain phylogenetic position, it is important from a historical point of view and as only the second record (and the only bone record) of mosasauroids from the Turonian of Poland.
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Xiao L, Labandeira CC, Ren D. Insect herbivory immediately before the eclipse of the gymnosperms: The Dawangzhangzi plant assemblage of Northeastern China. Insect Sci 2022; 29:1483-1520. [PMID: 34874612 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12988] [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] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The Early Cretaceous terrestrial revolution involved global shifts from gymnosperm- to angiosperm-dominated floras. However, responses of insect herbivores to these changes remain unexamined. We evaluated 2 176 highly sampled plant specimens representing 62 species/morphotypes from the 126 Ma Dawangzhangzi plant assemblage of Northeastern China. Our study consisted of horsetails, ferns, ginkgoaleans, czekanowskialeans, conifers, and an angiosperm. Their herbivory was evaluated by the functional feeding groups of hole feeding, margin feeding, and surface feeding (ectophytic feeders); piercer and suckers, and ovipositing insects (ectoendophytic feeders); mining, galling, and borings (endophytic feeders); and pathogens, collectively constituting 65 damage types (DTs). The plant assemblage was assessed for herbivory richness by DT richness, component community structure, and DT specialization on plant hosts; for herbivory intensity, it was evaluated for DT frequency, herbivorized surface area, and feeding event occurrences. Using feeding event occurrences, the data supported seven species/morphotypes as most intensely herbivorized: Liaoningocladus boii (76.6%), Czekanowskia sp. 1 (8.4%), Czekanowskia rigida (4.10%), Lindleycladus lanceolatus (3.5%), Ginkgoites sp. 2 (2.0%), Podozamites sp. 1 (1.1%), and Solenites sp. 1 (0.9%). The most herbivorized taxa were pinaleans (conifers), then czekanowskialeans, and lastly ginkgoaleans; the monodominant component community was the conifer Liaoningocladus boii. DT host specialization levels were low. The plant assemblage had an overall low 0.86% of foliage removed by herbivores, explained by physical and chemical antiherbivore defenses, and parasitoid attack. Although Paleozoic, gymnosperm-dominated assemblages had greater herbivory, component community structure of the three most herbivorized taxa are more similar to modern bracken fern and willow than modern gymnosperm taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lifang Xiao
- College of Life Science and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Conrad C Labandeira
- College of Life Science and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, USA
- Department of Entomology and Bees Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Dong Ren
- College of Life Science and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
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Jamison-Todd S, Moon BC, Rowe AJ, Williams M, Benton MJ. Dietary niche partitioning in Early Jurassic ichthyosaurs from Strawberry Bank. J Anat 2022; 241:1409-1423. [PMID: 36175086 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13744] [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: 12/02/2021] [Revised: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Jurassic ichthyosaurs dominated upper trophic levels of marine ecosystems. Many species coexisted alongside each another, and it is uncertain whether they competed for the same array of food or divided dietary resources, each specializing in different kinds of prey. Here, we test whether feeding differences existed between species, applying finite element analysis to ichthyosaurs for the first time. We examine two juvenile ichthyosaur specimens, referred to Hauffiopteryx typicus and Stenopterygius triscissus, from the Strawberry Bank Lagerstätte, a shallow marine environment from the Early Jurassic of southern England (Toarcian, ~183 Ma). Snout and cranial robusticity differ between the species, with S. triscissus having a more robust snout and cranium and specializing in slow biting of hard prey, and H. typicus with its slender snout specializing in fast, but weaker bites on fast-moving, but soft prey. The two species did not differ in muscle forces, but stress distributions varied in the nasal area, reflecting differences when biting at different points along the tooth row: the more robustly snouted Stenopterygius resisted increases or shifts in stress distribution when the bite point was shifted from the posterior to the mid-point of the tooth row, but the slender-snouted Hauffiopteryx showed shifts and increases in stress distributions between these two bite points. The differences in cranial morphology, dentition and inferred stresses between the two species suggest adaptations for dietary niche partitioning.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Benjamin C Moon
- Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Andre J Rowe
- Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Matt Williams
- Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, Bath, UK
| | - Michael J Benton
- Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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20
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Ferrante C, Menkveld-Gfeller U, Cavin L. The first Jurassic coelacanth from Switzerland. Swiss J Palaeontol 2022; 141:15. [PMID: 36164559 PMCID: PMC9499918 DOI: 10.1186/s13358-022-00257-z] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Coelacanths form a clade of sarcopterygian fish represented today by a single genus, Latimeria. The fossil record of the group, which dates back to the Early Devonian, is sparse. In Switzerland, only Triassic sites in the east and southeast of the country have yielded fossils of coelacanths. Here, we describe and study the very first coelacanth of the Jurassic period (Toarcian stage) from Switzerland. The unique specimen, represented by a sub-complete individual, possesses morphological characteristics allowing assignment to the genus Libys (e.g., sensory canals opening through a large groove crossed by pillars), a marine coelacanth previously known only in the Late Jurassic of Germany. Morphological characters are different enough from the type species, Libys polypterus, to erect a new species of Libys named Libys callolepis sp. nov. The presence of Libys callolepis sp. nov. in Lower Jurassic beds extends the stratigraphic range of the genus Libys by about 34 million years, but without increasing considerably its geographic distribution. Belonging to the modern family Latimeriidae, the occurrence of Libys callolepis sp. nov. heralds a long period, up to the present day, of coelacanth genera with very long stratigraphic range and reduced morphological disparity, which have earned them the nickname of 'living fossils'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christophe Ferrante
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Geneva, Rue des Maraîchers 13, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Geology and Palaeontology, Natural History Museum of Geneva, CP 6434, 1211 Geneva 8, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | - Lionel Cavin
- Department of Geology and Palaeontology, Natural History Museum of Geneva, CP 6434, 1211 Geneva 8, Geneva, Switzerland
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Abstract
Background In egg-laying amniotes, the developing embryo is tethered to a number of the extraembryonic membranes including the yolk sac and allantois that deliver oxygen and nutrients and remove metabolic waste products throughout embryonic development. Prior to, or soon after hatching, these membranes detach from the animal leaving a temporary or permanent umbilical scar (umbilicus) equivalent to the navel or ‘belly button’ in some placental mammals, including humans. Although ubiquitous in modern mammals and reptiles (including birds), at least early in their ontogeny, the umbilicus has not been identified in any pre-Cenozoic amniote. Results We report the oldest preserved umbilicus in a fossil amniote from a ~130-million-year-old early-branching ceratopsian dinosaur, Psittacosaurus. Under laser-stimulated fluorescence (LSF), the umbilicus is revealed as an elongate midline structure delimited by a row of paired scales on the abdomen. The relatively late ontogenetic stage (close to sexual maturity) estimated for the individual indicates that the umbilicus was probably retained throughout life. Conclusions Unlike most extant reptiles and birds that lose this scar within days to weeks after hatching, the umbilicus of Psittacosaurus persisted at least until sexual maturity, similar to some lizards and crocodylians with which it shares the closest morphological resemblance. This discovery is the oldest record of an amniote umbilicus and the first in a non-avian dinosaur. However, given the variability of this structure in extant reptilian analogues, a persistent umbilical scar may not have been present in all non-avian dinosaurs. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12915-022-01329-9.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phil R Bell
- School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia.
| | - Christophe Hendrickx
- Unidad Ejecutora Lillo, CONICET-Fundación Miguel Lillo, Miguel Lillo, San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Michael Pittman
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China. .,Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London, UK. .,Foundation for Scientific Advancement, Sierra Vista, AZ, USA.
| | - Thomas G Kaye
- Foundation for Scientific Advancement, Sierra Vista, AZ, USA
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22
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Weber C, Hautmann M, Tajika A, Klug C. Is the relative thickness of ammonoid septa influenced by ocean acidification, phylogenetic relationships and palaeogeographic position? Swiss J Palaeontol 2022; 141:4. [PMID: 35510216 PMCID: PMC9016059 DOI: 10.1186/s13358-022-00246-2] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED The impact of increasing atmospheric CO2 and the resulting decreasing pH of seawater are in the focus of current environmental research. These factors cause problems for marine calcifiers such as reduced calcification rates and the dissolution of calcareous skeletons. While the impact on recent organisms is well established, little is known about long-term evolutionary consequences. Here, we assessed whether ammonoids reacted to environmental change by changing septal thickness. We measured the septal thickness of ammonoid phragmocones through ontogeny in order to test the hypothesis that atmospheric pCO2, seawater pH and other factors affected aragonite biomineralisation in ammonoids. Particularly, we studied septal thickness of ammonoids before and after the ocean acidification event in the latest Triassic until the Early Cretaceous. Early Jurassic ammonoid lineages had thinner septa relative to diameter than their Late Triassic relatives, which we tentatively interpret as consequence of a positive selection for reduced shell material as an evolutionary response to this ocean acidification event. This response was preserved within several lineages among the Early Jurassic descendants of these ammonoids. By contrast, we did not find a significant correlation between septal thickness and long-term atmospheric pCO2 or seawater pH, but we discovered a correlation with palaeolatitude. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13358-022-00246-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Céline Weber
- Paläontologisches Institut Und Museum, Universität Zürich, Karl-Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michael Hautmann
- Paläontologisches Institut Und Museum, Universität Zürich, Karl-Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Amane Tajika
- Division of Paleontology (Invertebrates), American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West 79th Street, New York, NY 10024 USA
- University Museum, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Tokyo, 113-0033 Japan
| | - Christian Klug
- Paläontologisches Institut Und Museum, Universität Zürich, Karl-Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
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23
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Abstract
Fossils shed light on mating strategies in scorpionflies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaodan Lin
- Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control of Tropical Plant Diseases and Pests, Ministry of Education, College of Plant Protection, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Dong Ren
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
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24
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Barreto Xavier-Leite A, da Silva Cáceres ME, Aptroot A, Moncada B, Lücking R, Tomio Goto B. Phylogenetic revision of the lichenized family Gomphillaceae (Ascomycota: Graphidales) suggests post-K-Pg boundary diversification and phylogenetic signal in asexual reproductive structures. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2022; 168:107380. [PMID: 34999241 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107380] [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: 05/24/2020] [Revised: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
We present the first broad molecular-phylogenetic revision of the lichenized family Gomphillaceae, based on 408 newly generated sequences of the mitochondrial SSU rDNA and nuclear LSU rDNA, representing 342 OTUs. The phylogenetic analysis of 20 out of the 28 currently accepted genera resulted in 48 clades. Twelve genera were resolved as monophyletic: Actinoplaca, Arthotheliopsis, Bullatina, Caleniopsis, Corticifraga, Gomphillus, Gyalectidium, Gyalidea, Jamesiella, Rolueckia, Rubrotricha, and Taitaia. Two genera resulted paraphyletic, namely Aulaxina (including Caleniopsis) and Asterothyrium (including Linhartia). Six genera were in part highly polyphyletic: Aderkomyces, Calenia, Echinoplaca, Gyalideopsis, Psorotheciopsis, and Tricharia. While ascoma morphology and anatomy has traditionally been considered as main character complex to distinguish genera, our study supported the notion that the characteristic asexual anamorph of Gomphillaceae, the so-called hyphophores, are diagnostic for most of the newly recognized clades. As a result, we recognize 26 new genus-level clades, three of which have names available (Microxyphiomyces, Psathyromyces, Spinomyces) and 23 that will require formal description as new genera. We also tested monophyly for 53 species-level names for which two or more specimens were sequenced: 27 were supported as monophyletic and representing a single species, 13 as monophyletic but with an internal topology suggesting cryptic speciation, four as paraphyletic, and nine as polyphyletic. These data suggest that species richness in the family is higher than indicated by the number of accepted names (currently 425); they also confirm that recently refined species concepts reflect species richness better than the broad concepts applied in Santesson's monograph. A divergence time analysis revealed that foliicolous Gomphillaceae diversified after the K-Pg-boundary and largely during the Miocene, a notion supported by limited data available for other common foliicolous lineages such as Chroodiscus (Graphidaceae), Pilocarpaceae, and Porinaceae. This contradicts recent studies suggesting that only macrofoliose Lecanoromycetes exhibit increased diversification rates in the Cenozoic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Barreto Xavier-Leite
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Sistemática e Evolução, CB, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Campus Universitário, 59072-970, Natal, RN, Brazil.
| | - Marcela E da Silva Cáceres
- Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, CEP: 49500-000, Itabaiana, Sergipe, Brazil.
| | - André Aptroot
- Laboratório de Botânica / Liquenologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, CEP 79070-900, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.
| | - Bibiana Moncada
- Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, Licenciatura en Biología, Cra. 4 No. 26B-54, Torre de Laboratorios, Herbario, Bogotá, Colombia.
| | - Robert Lücking
- Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Strasse 6-8, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Bruno Tomio Goto
- Departamento de Botânica e Zoologia, CB, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Campus Universitário, 59072-970, Natal, RN, Brazil.
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25
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Benito J, Chen A, Wilson LE, Bhullar BAS, Burnham D, Field DJ. Forty new specimens of Ichthyornis provide unprecedented insight into the postcranial morphology of crownward stem group birds. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13919. [PMID: 36545383 PMCID: PMC9762251 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13919] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Ichthyornis has long been recognized as a pivotally important fossil taxon for understanding the latest stages of the dinosaur-bird transition, but little significant new postcranial material has been brought to light since initial descriptions of partial skeletons in the 19th Century. Here, we present new information on the postcranial morphology of Ichthyornis from 40 previously undescribed specimens, providing the most complete morphological assessment of the postcranial skeleton of Ichthyornis to date. The new material includes four partially complete skeletons and numerous well-preserved isolated elements, enabling new anatomical observations such as muscle attachments previously undescribed for Mesozoic euornitheans. Among the elements that were previously unknown or poorly represented for Ichthyornis, the new specimens include an almost-complete axial series, a hypocleideum-bearing furcula, radial carpal bones, fibulae, a complete tarsometatarsus bearing a rudimentary hypotarsus, and one of the first-known nearly complete three-dimensional sterna from a Mesozoic avialan. Several pedal phalanges are preserved, revealing a remarkably enlarged pes presumably related to foot-propelled swimming. Although diagnosable as Ichthyornis, the new specimens exhibit a substantial degree of morphological variation, some of which may relate to ontogenetic changes. Phylogenetic analyses incorporating our new data and employing alternative morphological datasets recover Ichthyornis stemward of Hesperornithes and Iaceornis, in line with some recent hypotheses regarding the topology of the crownward-most portion of the avian stem group, and we establish phylogenetically-defined clade names for relevant avialan subclades to help facilitate consistent discourse in future work. The new information provided by these specimens improves our understanding of morphological evolution among the crownward-most non-neornithine avialans immediately preceding the origin of crown group birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Benito
- Department of Biology & Biochemistry, Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.,Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
| | - Albert Chen
- Department of Biology & Biochemistry, Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.,Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
| | - Laura E Wilson
- Fort Hays State University, Sternberg Museum of Natural History and Department of Geosciences, Hays, Kansas, United States
| | - Bhart-Anjan S Bhullar
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, New Haven, Conneticut, United States.,Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Conneticut, United States
| | - David Burnham
- University of Kansas, Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum, Lawrence, Kansas, United States
| | - Daniel J Field
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom.,University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Chiarenza AA, Mannion PD, Farnsworth A, Carrano MT, Varela S. Climatic constraints on the biogeographic history of Mesozoic dinosaurs. Curr Biol 2021; 32:570-585.e3. [PMID: 34921764 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.11.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Dinosaurs dominated Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystems globally. However, whereas a pole-to-pole geographic distribution characterized ornithischians and theropods, sauropods were restricted to lower latitudes. Here, we evaluate the role of climate in shaping these biogeographic patterns through the Jurassic-Cretaceous (201-66 mya), combining dinosaur fossil occurrences, past climate data from Earth System models, and habitat suitability modeling. Results show that, uniquely among dinosaurs, sauropods occupied climatic niches characterized by high temperatures and strongly bounded by minimum cold temperatures. This constrained the distribution and dispersal pathways of sauropods to tropical areas, excluding them from latitudinal extremes, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. The greater availability of suitable habitat in the southern continents, particularly in the Late Cretaceous, might be key to explaining the high diversity of sauropods there, relative to northern landmasses. Given that ornithischians and theropods show a flattened or bimodal latitudinal biodiversity gradient, with peaks at higher latitudes, the closer correspondence of sauropods to a subtropical concentration could hint at fundamental thermophysiological differences to the other two clades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza
- Grupo de Ecología Animal, Centro de Investigacion Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, Vigo 36310, Spain; Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BP, UK; Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Philip D Mannion
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Alex Farnsworth
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road, Bristol BS8 1RL, UK; State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Matthew T Carrano
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 121, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA.
| | - Sara Varela
- Grupo de Ecología Animal, Centro de Investigacion Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, Vigo 36310, Spain
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27
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Wang M, O'Connor JK, Zhao T, Pan Y, Zheng X, Wang X, Zhou Z. An Early Cretaceous enantiornithine bird with a pintail. Curr Biol 2021; 31:4845-4852.e2. [PMID: 34534442 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.044] [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] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Revised: 07/18/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Enantiornithes are the most successful group of Mesozoic birds, arguably representing the first global avian radiation,1-4 and commonly resolved as the sister to the Ornithuromorpha, the clade within which all living birds are nested.1,3 The wealth of fossils makes it feasible to comparatively test evolutionary hypotheses about the pattern and mode of eco-morphological diversity of these sister clades that co-existed for approximately 65 Ma. Here, we report a new Early Cretaceous enantiornithine, Yuanchuavis kompsosoura gen. et. sp. nov., with a rectricial fan combined with an elongate central pair of fully pennaceous rachis-dominated plumes, constituting a new tail plumage previously unknown among nonavialan dinosaurs and Mesozoic birds but which strongly resembles the pintail in many neornithines. The extravagant but aerodynamically costly long central plumes, as an honest signal of quality, likely evolved in enantiornithines through the handicap process of sexual selection. The contrasting tail morphotypes observed between enantiornithines and early ornithuromorphs reflect the complex interplay between sexual and natural selections and indicate that each lineage experienced unique pressures reflecting ecological differences. As in neornithines, early avialans repeatedly evolved extravagant structures highlighting the importance of sexual selection in shaping the plumage of feathered dinosaurs, even early in their evolutionary history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China.
| | | | - Tao Zhao
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Yanhong Pan
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Xiaoting Zheng
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi, 276000 Shandong, China; Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi, 273300 Shandong, China
| | - Xiaoli Wang
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi, 276000 Shandong, China; Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Pingyi, 273300 Shandong, China
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
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Nicholl CSC, Hunt ESE, Ouarhache D, Mannion PD. A second peirosaurid crocodyliform from the Mid-Cretaceous Kem Kem Group of Morocco and the diversity of Gondwanan notosuchians outside South America. R Soc Open Sci 2021; 8:211254. [PMID: 34659786 PMCID: PMC8511751 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Notosuchians are an extinct clade of terrestrial crocodyliforms with a particularly rich record in the late Early to Late Cretaceous (approx. 130-66 Ma) of Gondwana. Although much of this diversity comes from South America, Africa and Indo-Madagascar have also yielded numerous notosuchian remains. Three notosuchian species are currently recognized from the early Late Cretaceous (approx. 100 Ma) Kem Kem Group of Morocco, including the peirosaurid Hamadasuchus rebouli. Here, we describe two new specimens that demonstrate the presence of at least a fourth notosuchian species in this fauna. Antaeusuchus taouzensis n. gen. n. sp. is incorporated into one of the largest notosuchian-focused character-taxon matrices yet to be compiled, comprising 443 characters scored for 63 notosuchian species, with an increased sampling of African and peirosaurid species. Parsimony analyses run under equal and extended implied weighting consistently recover Antaeusuchus as a peirosaurid notosuchian, supported by the presence of two distinct waves on the dorsal dentary surface, a surangular which laterally overlaps the dentary above the mandibular fenestra, and a relatively broad mandibular symphysis. Within Peirosauridae, Antaeusuchus is recovered as the sister taxon of Hamadasuchus. However, it differs from Hamadasuchus with respect to several features, including the ornamentation of the lateral surface of the mandible, the angle of divergence of the mandibular rami, the texture of tooth enamel and the shape of the teeth, supporting their generic distinction. We present a critical reappraisal of the non-South American Gondwanan notosuchian record, which spans the Middle Jurassic-late Eocene. This review, as well as our phylogenetic analyses, indicate the existence of at least three approximately contemporaneous peirosaurid lineages within the Kem Kem Group, alongside other notosuchians, and support the peirosaurid affinities of the 'trematochampsid' Miadanasuchus oblita from the Maastrichtian of Madagascar. Furthermore, the Cretaceous record demonstrates the presence of multiple lineages of approximately contemporaneous notosuchians in several African and Madagascan faunas, and supports previous suggestions regarding an undocumented pre-Aptian radiation of Notosuchia. By contrast, the post-Cretaceous record is depauperate, comprising rare occurrences of sebecosuchians in north Africa prior to their extirpation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecily S. C. Nicholl
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Eloise S. E. Hunt
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
- Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet DTP, and the Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Driss Ouarhache
- Laboratoire Géosystèmes, Environnement et Développement Durable, Département de Géologie, Faculté des Sciences Dhar El Mahraz, Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, BP 1796, Atlas 30 000, Fès, Morocco
| | - Philip D. Mannion
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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29
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Li YD, Kundrata R, Huang DY, Cai CY. Notes on the Morphology and Systematic Position of Archaeolus Lin, 1986, from the Jurassic of South China (Coleoptera: Elateroidea). Insects 2021; 12:insects12100876. [PMID: 34680645 PMCID: PMC8537516 DOI: 10.3390/insects12100876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Elateroidea is one of the large superfamilies in the beetle suborder Polyphaga. Many adpression-type elateroid fossils were insufficiently described, which hinders the interpretation of their systematic position. Here, we figure and re-describe an elateroid fossil, Archaeolus funestus, from the Jurassic of South China. Our observations support that Archaeolus might be a member of the Throscidae family. Abstract The morphology of the Jurassic fossil Archaeolus funestus Lin, 1986, which was previously placed in the extinct click-beetle subfamily Protagrypninae (Coleoptera: Elateridae), is revised based on a re-examination of the type specimen. The validity of Protagrypninae is discussed and further questioned, partly based on the newly observed characters in A. funestus, including the surface sculpture of the mesoventrite. A possible Throscidae affinity of monotypic Archaeolus Lin, 1986, as suggested in a recent study, is further critically reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan-Da Li
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Center for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; (Y.-D.L.); (D.-Y.H.)
| | - Robin Kundrata
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Palacky University, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic;
| | - Di-Ying Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Center for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; (Y.-D.L.); (D.-Y.H.)
| | - Chen-Yang Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Center for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; (Y.-D.L.); (D.-Y.H.)
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- Correspondence:
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Jambura PL, Stumpf S, Kriwet J. Skeletal remains of the oldest known pseudocoracid shark Pseudocorax kindlimanni sp. nov. (Chondrichthyes, Lamniformes) from the Late Cretaceous of Lebanon. Cretac Res 2021; 125:104842. [PMID: 34642522 PMCID: PMC7611798 DOI: 10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
A new fossil mackerel shark, Pseudocorax kindlimanni sp. nov. (Lamniformes, Pseudocoracidae), is described from the Cenomanian Konservat-Lagerstätte of Haqel, Lebanon. The new species is based on the most complete fossil of this group to date, which comprises an associated tooth set of 70 teeth, six articulated vertebral centra, numerous placoid scales and pieces of unidentifiable mineralized cartilage. The dentition of P. kindlimanni sp. nov. is marked by a high degree of monognathic heterodonty but does not exhibit the characteristic "lamnoid tooth pattern" known from other macrophagous lamniform sharks. In addition, P. kindlimanni sp. nov. shows differences in tooth microstructure and vertebral centrum morphology compared to other lamniform sharks. These variations, however, are also known from other members of this order and do not warrant the assignment of Pseudocorax outside the lamniform sharks. The new fossil is the oldest known pseudocoracid shark and pushes the origin of this group back into the Cenomanian, a time when lamniform sharks underwent a major diversification. This radiation resulted not only in high species diversity, but also in the development of a diverse array of morphological traits and adaptation to different ecological niches. Pseudocorax kindlimanni sp. nov. was a small, active predator capable of fast swimming, and it occupied the lower trophic levels of the marine food web in the Late Cretaceous.
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Moreau JD, Philippe M, Néraudeau D, Dépré E, Le Couls M, Fernandez V, Beurel S. Paleohistology of the Cretaceous resin-producing conifer Geinitzia reichenbachii using X-ray synchrotron microtomography. Am J Bot 2021; 108:1745-1760. [PMID: 34495546 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1722] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE The conifer Geinitzia reichenbachii was a common member of the Cretaceous Laurasian floras. However, the histology of G. reichenbachii leafy axes was never described in detail, and our knowledge of its paleoecology remains very limited. Using new and exquisitely preserved silicified material from the Upper Cretaceous of western France, we describe G. reichenbachii from the gross morphology to the cellular scale, then discuss paleoecological and taphonomical implications. METHODS We examined specimens from two localities in western France (Claix and Moragne) using propagation phase-contrast X-ray synchrotron microtomography. RESULTS The cuticle and the inner tissues of leafy axes are preserved in three dimensions. Epidermis, hypodermis, palisade parenchyma, spongy parenchyma, transfusion tracheids, and most of tissues of the vascular cylinder are clearly discernible. The numerous resin ducts are sometimes filled by persisting resin. Additionally, surfaces of some leaves preserved drops and flows of resin. CONCLUSIONS Depositional environmental context combined with histological features of G. reichenbachii suggest that this conifer was adapted to a range of marginal-littoral ecosystems including those open to the sea paleoenvironments and innermost ones influenced by strong continental inputs. Geinitzia reichenbachii was adapted to withstand intense sunlight, hot temperatures coupled with salty sea wind, and dry conditions. The frequent amber-bearing beds in the Cretaceous from western France with Geinitzia as a main component of the associated floras raises the possibility of a role for Geinitzia in the production of the "Charentese amber".
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-David Moreau
- Biogéosciences, UMR CNRS 6282, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 boulevard Gabriel, Dijon, 21000, France
| | - Marc Philippe
- Université de Lyon, Claude-Bernard Lyon-1, ENTPE, CNRS, UMR 5023 LEHNA, Villeurbanne, 69622, France
| | - Didier Néraudeau
- CNRS UMR 6118 Géosciences, Université Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, 263 avenue du Général Leclerc, Rennes, `Cedex, 35042, France
| | - Eric Dépré
- GIP-GEVES (Groupement d'Étude et de Contrôle des Variétés et Semences), Le Magneraud, Surgères, F-17700, France
| | - Matthieu Le Couls
- CNRS UMR 6118 Géosciences, Université Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, 263 avenue du Général Leclerc, Rennes, `Cedex, 35042, France
| | - Vincent Fernandez
- Imaging and Analysis Centre, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 7 avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble, 38043, France
| | - Simon Beurel
- CNRS UMR 6118 Géosciences, Université Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, 263 avenue du Général Leclerc, Rennes, `Cedex, 35042, France
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, Berlin, 10115, Germany
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Cumming RT, Tirant SL. Drawing the Excalibur bug from the stone: adding credibility to the double-edged sword hypothesis of coreid evolution (Hemiptera, Coreidae). Zookeys 2021; 1043:117-131. [PMID: 34163298 PMCID: PMC8217075 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1043.67730] [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] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
A new genus and species of exaggerated antennae Coreidae is described from Myanmar amber of the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian stage). Ferriantennaexcaliburgen. et sp. nov. appears related to another Cretaceous coreid with exaggerated antennae, Magnusantenna Du & Chen, 2021, but can be differentiated by the fourth antennal segment which is short and paddle-like, the undulating shape of the pronotum and mesonotum, and the shorter and thicker legs. The new coreid, with elaborately formed antennae and simple hind legs instead of the typical extant coreid morphology with simple antennae and elaborately formed hind legs, begs the question: why were the elaborate features of the antennae lost in favor of ornate hind legs? Features that are large and showy are at higher risk of being attacked by predators or stuck in a poor molt and subjected to autotomy and are therefore lost at a higher rate than simple appendages. We hypothesize that because elaborate antennae play an additional significant sensory role compared to elaborate hind legs, that evolutionarily it is more costly to have elaborate antennae versus elaborate hind legs. Thus, through the millenia, as coreid evolution experimented with elaborate/ornate features, those on the antennae were likely selected against in favor of ornate hind legs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Royce T Cumming
- Montreal Insectarium, 4581 rue Sherbrooke est, Montréal , H1X 2B2, Québec, Canada Montreal Insectarium Montréal Canada.,Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA American Museum of Natural History New York United States of America.,Biology, Graduate Center, City University of New York, NY, USA City University of New York New York United States of America
| | - Stéphane Le Tirant
- Montreal Insectarium, 4581 rue Sherbrooke est, Montréal , H1X 2B2, Québec, Canada Montreal Insectarium Montréal Canada
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Brocklehurst N, Panciroli E, Benevento GL, Benson RBJ. Mammaliaform extinctions as a driver of the morphological radiation of Cenozoic mammals. Curr Biol 2021; 31:2955-2963.e4. [PMID: 34004143 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.04.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [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: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Adaptive radiations are hypothesized as a generating mechanism for much of the morphological diversity of extant species.1-7 The Cenozoic radiation of placental mammals, the foundational example of this concept,8,9 gave rise to much of the morphological disparity of extant mammals, and is generally attributed to relaxed evolutionary constraints following the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs.10-13 However, study of this and other radiations has focused on variation in evolutionary rates,4,5,7,14 leaving the extent to which relaxation of constraints enabled the origin of novel phenotypes less well characterized.15-17 We evaluate constraints on morphological evolution among mammaliaforms (mammals and their closest relatives) using a new method that quantifies the capacity of evolutionary change to generate phenotypic novelty. We find that Mesozoic crown-group therians, which include the ancestors of placental mammals, were significantly more constrained than other mammaliaforms. Relaxation of these constraints occurred in the mid-Paleocene, post-dating the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs at the K/Pg boundary, instead coinciding with important environmental shifts and with declining ecomorphological diversity in non-theriimorph mammaliaforms. This relaxation occurred even in small-bodied Cenozoic mammals weighing <100 g, which are unlikely to have competed with dinosaurs. Instead, our findings support a more complex model whereby Mesozoic crown therian evolution was in part constrained by co-occurrence with disparate mammaliaforms, as well as by the presence of dinosaurs, within-lineage incumbency effects, and environmental factors. Our results demonstrate that variation in evolutionary constraints can occur independently of variation in evolutionary rate, and that both make important contributions to the understanding of adaptive radiations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil Brocklehurst
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK.
| | - Elsa Panciroli
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK; Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW, UK
| | - Gemma Louise Benevento
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Roger B J Benson
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK
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Stumpf S, Etches S, Underwood CJ, Kriwet J. Durnonovariaodus maiseyi gen. et sp. nov., a new hybodontiform shark-like chondrichthyan from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation of England. PeerJ 2021; 9:e11362. [PMID: 34026354 PMCID: PMC8121075 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
A partial skeleton of a hybodontiform shark-like chondrichthyan from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation of Dorset, England, is described and designated as a new genus and species, Durnonovariaodus maiseyi gen. et sp. nov. The holotype and only known specimen, which is represented by disarticulated splanchnocranial elements with associated teeth, a single dorsal fin spine, the pelvic girdle, as well as unidentifiable cartilage fragments, plus countless dermal denticles, exhibits a puzzling combination of dental and skeletal features, providing important new insights into the morphological and ecological diversity of hybodontiforms. Durnonovariaodus gen. nov. displays a unique set of dental characters, showing close morphological resemblance to Secarodus from the Middle Jurassic of England, which was erected for distinctive, strongly labio-lingually compressed multicuspid cutting teeth originally described as Hybodus polyprion. Skeletally, Durnonovariaodus gen. nov. resembles Hybodus and Egertonodus in having a palatoquadrate with a palatobasal process and an ethmoidal articular surface, combined with the possession of dorsal fin spines ornamented with costae. Therefore, and given the absence of any conclusive phylogenetic framework, Durnonovariaodus maiseyi gen. et sp. nov. is here tentatively referred to Hybodontidae until more complete material becomes available in order to enable a more reliable suprageneric identification. The holotype of Durnonovariaodus maiseyi gen. et sp. nov. contains two separate pelvic half-girdles, a feature previously considered as evolutionarily primitive among hybodontiforms. However, unfused pelvic half-girdles also occur in the supposedly closely related species Hybodus hauffianus and may in fact have been more widely distributed among hybodontiforms than previously thought, thus rendering the phylogenetic utility of separated pelvic half-girdles for inferring hybodontiform interrelationships difficult and unresolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Stumpf
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Steve Etches
- Museum of Jurassic Marine Life, Kimmeridge, Dorset, United Kingdom
| | - Charlie J Underwood
- School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jürgen Kriwet
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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Villa A, Montie R, Röper M, Rothgaenger M, Rauhut OWM. Sphenofontis velserae gen. et sp. nov., a new rhynchocephalian from the Late Jurassic of Brunn (Solnhofen Archipelago, southern Germany). PeerJ 2021; 9:e11363. [PMID: 33987027 PMCID: PMC8101455 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [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] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The Solnhofen Archipelago is well known for its fossil vertebrates of Late Jurassic age, among which figure numerous rhynchocephalian specimens, representing at least six and up to nine genera. A new taxon, named Sphenofontis velserae gen. et sp. nov., increases rhynchocephalian diversity in the Solnhofen Archipelago and is herein described based on a single, well-preserved specimen originating from the Late Kimmeridgian of the Brunn quarry, near Regensburg. The exquisite preservation of the holotype allowed a detailed description of the animal, revealing a skeletal morphology that includes both plesiomorphic and derived features within rhynchocephalians. Sphenofontis is herein referred to Neosphenodontia and tentatively to sphenodontine sphenodontids. It notably differs from all other rhynchocephalians known from the Jurassic of Europe, showing instead closer resemblance with the Middle Jurassic Cynosphenodon from Mexico and especially the extant Sphenodon. This is evidence for a wide distribution of taxa related to the extant tuatara early in the Mesozoic, and also for the presence of less-specialized rhynchocephalians coexisting with more derived forms during the earliest time in the history of the Solnhofen Archipelago.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Villa
- SNSB-Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, Munich, Germany.,Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy
| | - Roel Montie
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy
| | - Martin Röper
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy.,Museum Solnhofen, Solnhofen, Germany
| | - Monika Rothgaenger
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy.,Museum Solnhofen, Solnhofen, Germany
| | - Oliver W M Rauhut
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy.,Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.,GeoBioCenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany
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36
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Motani R, Vermeij GJ. Ecophysiological steps of marine adaptation in extant and extinct non-avian tetrapods. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 96:1769-1798. [PMID: 33904243 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12724] [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] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Revised: 04/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Marine reptiles and mammals are phylogenetically so distant from each other that their marine adaptations are rarely compared directly. We reviewed ecophysiological features in extant non-avian marine tetrapods representing 31 marine colonizations to test whether there is a common pattern across higher taxonomic groups, such as mammals and reptiles. Marine adaptations in tetrapods can be roughly divided into aquatic and haline adaptations, each of which seems to follow a sequence of three steps. In combination, these six categories exhibit five steps of marine adaptation that apply across all clades except snakes: Step M1, incipient use of marine resources; Step M2, direct feeding in the saline sea; Step M3, water balance maintenance without terrestrial fresh water; Step M4, minimized terrestrial travel and loss of terrestrial feeding; and Step M5, loss of terrestrial thermoregulation and fur/plumage. Acquisition of viviparity is not included because there is no known case where viviparity evolved after a tetrapod lineage colonized the sea. A similar sequence is found in snakes but with the haline adaptation step (Step M3) lagging behind aquatic adaptation (haline adaptation is Step S5 in snakes), most likely because their unique method of water balance maintenance requires a supply of fresh water. The same constraint may limit the maximum body size of fully marine snakes. Steps M4 and M5 in all taxa except snakes are associated with skeletal adaptations that are mechanistically linked to relevant ecophysiological features, allowing assessment of marine adaptation steps in some fossil marine tetrapods. We identified four fossil clades containing members that reached Step M5 outside of stem whales, pinnipeds, sea cows and sea turtles, namely Eosauropterygia, Ichthyosauromorpha, Mosasauroidea, and Thalattosuchia, while five other clades reached Step M4: Saurosphargidae, Placodontia, Dinocephalosaurus, Desmostylia, and Odontochelys. Clades reaching Steps M4 and M5, both extant and extinct, appear to have higher species diversity than those only reaching Steps M1 to M3, while the total number of clades is higher for the earlier steps. This suggests that marine colonizers only diversified greatly after they minimized their use of terrestrial resources, with many lineages not reaching these advanced steps. Historical patterns suggest that a clade does not advance to Steps M4 and M5 unless these steps are reached early in the evolution of the clade. Intermediate forms before a clade reached Steps M4 and M5 tend to become extinct without leaving extant descendants or fossil evidence. This makes it difficult to reconstruct the evolutionary history of marine adaptation in many clades. Clades that reached Steps M4 and M5 tend to last longer than other marine tetrapod clades, sometimes for more than 100 million years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryosuke Motani
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, U.S.A
| | - Geerat J Vermeij
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, U.S.A
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Ševčík J, Skartveit J, Krzemiński W, Skibińska K. A Peculiar New Genus of Bibionomorpha (Diptera) with Brachycera-Like Modification of Antennae from Mid-Cretaceous Amber of Myanmar. Insects 2021; 12:insects12040364. [PMID: 33923888 PMCID: PMC8073775 DOI: 10.3390/insects12040364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2021] [Revised: 03/30/2021] [Accepted: 04/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary The mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar (also known as Burmese amber) is almost 100 MYA old and represents an invaluable source of information about the evolution of life in the late Mesozoic. This is particularly true for the early flies (lower Diptera) which underwent rapid radiation during the Cretaceous period. Here we describe a remarkable nematocerous fossil fly which shows a character typical of the flies of the suborder Brachycera—with strongly modified antenna—representing new evidence that such a Brachycera-like modification of the antennae has evolved several times during the evolutionary history of Diptera. Abstract A new fossil genus of Bibionidae (Diptera: Bibionomorpha), Burmahesperinus gen. nov., from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, is described and illustrated (type species Burmahesperinus antennatus sp. nov., the other two species included are B. conicus sp. nov. and B. pedicellatus sp. nov.). The new genus is tentatively placed in a new subfamily, Burmahesperininae subfam. nov. of the family Bibionidae. Its possible phylogenetic position is briefly discussed. The new genus, as well as the subfamily, possesses the wing venation similar to the recent genus Hesperinus Walker, 1848, in combination with Brachycera-like modification of both the male and female antenna and the overall habitus typical of fungus gnats (Sciaroidea).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Ševčík
- Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Chittussiho 10, 71000 Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Correspondence:
| | - John Skartveit
- Department of Teacher Education, NLA University College Bergen, P.O. Box 74 Sandviken, 5812 Bergen, Norway;
| | - Wiesław Krzemiński
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17, 31-016 Kraków, Poland; (W.K.); (K.S.)
| | - Kornelia Skibińska
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17, 31-016 Kraków, Poland; (W.K.); (K.S.)
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Badano D, Zhang Q, Fratini M, Maugeri L, Bukreeva I, Longo E, Wilde F, Yeates DK, Cerretti P. Discovery of Lebambromyia in Myanmar Cretaceous Amber: Phylogenetic and Biogeographic Implications (Insecta, Diptera, Phoroidea). Insects 2021; 12:354. [PMID: 33923404 PMCID: PMC8074229 DOI: 10.3390/insects12040354] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Revised: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Lebambromyia sacculifera sp. nov. is described from Late Cretaceous amber from Myanmar, integrating traditional observation techniques and X-ray phase contrast microtomography. Lebambromyia sacculifera is the second species of Lebambromyia after L. acrai Grimaldi and Cumming, described from Lebanese amber (Early Cretaceous), and the first record of this taxon from Myanmar amber, considerably extending the temporal and geographic range of this genus. The new specimen bears a previously undetected set of phylogenetically relevant characters such as a postpedicel sacculus and a prominent clypeus, which are shared with Ironomyiidae and Eumuscomorpha. Our cladistic analyses confirmed that Lebambromyia represented a distinct monophyletic lineage related to Platypezidae and Ironomyiidae, though its affinities are strongly influenced by the interpretation and coding of the enigmatic set of features characterizing these fossil flies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Badano
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
- Museum of Zoology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Valerio Massimo 6, 00162 Rome, Italy
| | - Qingqing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China;
- Institute of Geosciences, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Michela Fratini
- CNR-Nanotec (Rome Unit) c/o Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.F.); (L.M.); (I.B.)
| | - Laura Maugeri
- CNR-Nanotec (Rome Unit) c/o Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.F.); (L.M.); (I.B.)
| | - Inna Bukreeva
- CNR-Nanotec (Rome Unit) c/o Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.F.); (L.M.); (I.B.)
- P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii pr., 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Elena Longo
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Institute of Materials Physics, Max-Planck-Strasse 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany; (E.L.); (F.W.)
| | - Fabian Wilde
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Institute of Materials Physics, Max-Planck-Strasse 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany; (E.L.); (F.W.)
| | - David K. Yeates
- Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO National Facilities and Collections, Black Mountain, Clunies Ross Street, Acton, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia;
| | - Pierfilippo Cerretti
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
- Museum of Zoology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Valerio Massimo 6, 00162 Rome, Italy
- Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO National Facilities and Collections, Black Mountain, Clunies Ross Street, Acton, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia;
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Zhou X, Pêgas RV, Ma W, Han G, Jin X, Leal MEC, Bonde N, Kobayashi Y, Lautenschlager S, Wei X, Shen C, Ji S. A new darwinopteran pterosaur reveals arborealism and an opposed thumb. Curr Biol 2021; 31:2429-2436.e7. [PMID: 33848460 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 01/09/2021] [Revised: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Pterosaurs, which lived during the Mesozoic, were the first known vertebrates to evolve powered flight.1,2 Arboreal locomotion has been proposed for some taxa,3,4 and even considered to have played a role in the origin of pterosaur flight.5,6 Even so, there is still need for comprehensive quantitative ecomorphological analyses.3,4 Furthermore, skeletal adaptations correlated to specialized lifestyles are often difficult to recognize and interpret in fossils. Here we report on a new darwinopteran pterosaur that inhabited a unique forest ecosystem from the Jurassic of China. The new species exhibits the oldest record of palmar (or true) opposition of the pollex, which is unprecedented for pterosaurs and represents a sophisticated adaptation related to arboreal locomotion. Principal-coordinate analyses suggest an arboreal lifestyle for the new species but not for other closely related species from the same locality, implying a possible case of ecological niche partitioning. The discovery adds to the known array of pterosaur adaptations and the history of arborealism in vertebrates. It also adds to the impressive early bloom of arboreal communities in the Jurassic of China, shedding light on the history of forest environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuanyu Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Stratigraphy and Palaeontology (Ministry of Natural Resources), Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China; Beipiao Pterosaur Museum of China, Beipiao, Liaoning, China.
| | | | - Waisum Ma
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Gang Han
- Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology, Haikou, Hainan, China; Hainan Tropical Ocean University, Sanya, Hainan, China
| | - Xingsheng Jin
- Zhejiang Museum of Natural History, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | | | - Niels Bonde
- Zoological Museum (SNM), Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark; Fur Museum (Museum Salling), Fur, Denmark
| | | | - Stephan Lautenschlager
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Xuefang Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Stratigraphy and Palaeontology (Ministry of Natural Resources), Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China; Centre of Cores and Samples of Nature Resources, China Geological Survey, Beijing, China
| | - Caizhi Shen
- Dalian Natural History Museum, Dalian, Liaoning, China
| | - Shu'an Ji
- Key Laboratory of Stratigraphy and Palaeontology (Ministry of Natural Resources), Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China
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40
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Kundrata R, Packova G, Prosvirov AS, Hoffmannova J. The Fossil Record of Elateridae (Coleoptera: Elateroidea): Described Species, Current Problems and Future Prospects. Insects 2021; 12:286. [PMID: 33805978 PMCID: PMC8064311 DOI: 10.3390/insects12040286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The Elateridae (click-beetles) are the largest family in Elateroidea; however, their relationships, systematics and classification remain unclear. Our understanding of the origin, evolution, palaeodiversity and palaeobiogeography of Elateridae, as well as reconstruction of a reliable time-calibrated phylogeny for the group, are hampered by the lack of detailed knowledge of their fossil record. In this study, we summarize the current knowledge on all described fossil species in Elateridae, including their type material, geographic origin, age, bibliography and remarks on their systematic placement. Altogether, 261 fossil species classified in 99 genera and nine subfamilies are currently listed in this family. The Mesozoic click-beetle diversity includes 143 species, with most of them described from the Jurassic Karatau, and 118 described species are known from the Cenozoic deposits, mainly from the Eocene North American Florissant Formation and European Baltic amber. Available data on the described past diversity of Elateridae suggest that almost all fossil lineages in this group are in urgent need of revision and numerous Mesozoic species might belong to different families. Our study is intended to serve as a comprehensive basis for all subsequent research focused on the click-beetle fossil record.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Kundrata
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Palacky University, 17. listopadu 50, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic; (G.P.); (J.H.)
| | - Gabriela Packova
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Palacky University, 17. listopadu 50, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic; (G.P.); (J.H.)
| | - Alexander S. Prosvirov
- Department of Entomology, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1/12, 119234 Moscow, Russia;
| | - Johana Hoffmannova
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Palacky University, 17. listopadu 50, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic; (G.P.); (J.H.)
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Zhang YJ, Shih PJM, Wang JY, McNamara ME, Shih C, Ren D, Gao TP. Jurassic scorpionflies (Mecoptera) with swollen first metatarsal segments suggesting sexual dimorphism. BMC Ecol Evol 2021; 21:47. [PMID: 33743581 PMCID: PMC7981964 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-021-01771-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [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: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sexual dimorphism is widespread in insects. The certain specialized structures may be used as weapons in male-male combats or as ornaments to enhance mating opportunities. RESULTS We report striking swollen first tarsal segments in two families, four genera and six species of scorpionflies from the Middle Jurassic Yanliao Biota of Northeastern China. Swollen tarsal segments are restricted to male specimens and to hind leg tarsi. The geometric morphometric analyses reveal that the degree of swelling within the orthophlebiid species possessing swollen first metatarsal segments is species-specific, which can be used as a diagnostic character for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies. CONCLUSIONS The new findings indicate that swollen first metatarsal segments are relatively common in the family Orthophlebiidae during the Middle Jurassic. The tarsal swellings are considered to be sexually dimorphic, potentially associated with sexually display by males and/or camouflage of a "nuptial gift" in the mating process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan-Jie Zhang
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, 105 Xisanhuanbeilu, Haidian District, Beijing, 100048, China
| | - Peter J M Shih
- Academy for Allied Health Sciences, 1776 Raritan Road, Scotch Plains, NJ, 07076, USA
| | - Jun-You Wang
- Inner Mongolia Museum of Natural History, No.13, South 2nd Ring Road, Saihan District, Hohhot City, 010010, Inner Mongolia, China
| | - Maria E McNamara
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, T23 TK30, Ireland
| | - Chungkun Shih
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, 105 Xisanhuanbeilu, Haidian District, Beijing, 100048, China
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20013-7012, USA
| | - Dong Ren
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, 105 Xisanhuanbeilu, Haidian District, Beijing, 100048, China.
| | - Tai-Ping Gao
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, 105 Xisanhuanbeilu, Haidian District, Beijing, 100048, China.
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42
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Skibińska K, Albrycht M, Zhang Q, Giłka W, Zakrzewska M, Krzemiński W. Diversity of the Fossil Genus Palaeoglaesum Wagner (Diptera, Psychodidae) in the Upper Cretaceous Amber of Myanmar. Insects 2021; 12:insects12030247. [PMID: 33809471 PMCID: PMC8000030 DOI: 10.3390/insects12030247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Bruchomyiinae is one of seven subfamilies of Psychodidae. In the contemporary fauna, this small, relict subfamily occurs mainly in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Examination of inclusions preserved in the Upper Cretaceous amber of Myanmar (also known as Burmese amber), which is almost 100 mya, shows that this subfamily was abundant during the Cretaceous period. The extinct genus Palaeoglaesum is known only from this fossil resin. Moreover, its numerous inclusions and high diversification confirm that the Mesozoic was the stage of the early evolution and radiation of Psychodidae. Here we describe three new species and we provide additional details regarding the morphology of fossil species. Abstract Cretaceous Myanmar amber is abundant in inclusions belonging to the genus Palaeoglaesum. In addition, a significant morphological diversity among representatives of Palaeoglaesum can be observed. However, none of its representatives have been found in other fossil materials. Herein three new species: P. stebneri sp. nov., Skibińska and Krzemiński P. teres sp. nov. Skibińska and Albrycht, and P. pilosus sp. nov. Skibińska, Krzemiński and Zhang from Cretaceous Myanmar amber are described and illustrated. The very small size and characters of male hypopygium with aedeagus strongly bent and apically forked are pertinent to diagnosing the genus and species. New materials show that this genus and the whole subfamily Bruchomyiinae were probably more abundant and more diverse than the presently known extant fauna.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kornelia Skibińska
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17, 31-016 Kraków, Poland;
- Correspondence:
| | - Marzena Albrycht
- Institute of Biology, Pedagogical University of Kraków, Podchorążych 2, 30-084 Kraków, Poland;
| | - Qingqing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China;
- Institute of Geosciences, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Wojciech Giłka
- Laboratory of Systematic Zoology, Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Parasitology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland; (W.G.); (M.Z.)
| | - Marta Zakrzewska
- Laboratory of Systematic Zoology, Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Parasitology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland; (W.G.); (M.Z.)
| | - Wiesław Krzemiński
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17, 31-016 Kraków, Poland;
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Wang M, Lloyd GT, Zhang C, Zhou Z. The patterns and modes of the evolution of disparity in Mesozoic birds. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20203105. [PMID: 33529566 PMCID: PMC7893231 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.3105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The origin of birds from non-avian theropod dinosaurs is one of the greatest transitions in evolution. Shortly after diverging from other theropods in the Late Jurassic, Mesozoic birds diversified into two major clades-the Enantiornithes and Ornithuromorpha-acquiring many features previously considered unique to the crown group along the way. Here, we present a comparative phylogenetic study of the patterns and modes of Mesozoic bird skeletal morphology and limb proportions. Our results show that the major Mesozoic avian groups are distinctive in discrete character space, but constrained in a morphospace defined by limb proportions. The Enantiornithines, despite being the most speciose group of Mesozoic birds, are much less morphologically disparate than their sister clade, the Ornithuromorpha-the clade that gave rise to living birds, showing disparity and diversity were decoupled in avian history. This relatively low disparity suggests that diversification of enantiornithines was characterized in exhausting fine morphologies, whereas ornithuromorphs continuously explored a broader array of morphologies and ecological opportunities. We suggest this clade-specific evolutionary versatility contributed to their sole survival of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
| | - Graeme T. Lloyd
- School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JY, UK
| | - Chi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhonghe Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
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Li YD, Huang DY, Cai CY. New Genera and Species of the Family Throscidae (Coleoptera: Elateroidea) in Mid-Cretaceous Burmese Amber. Insects 2021; 12:63. [PMID: 33445628 PMCID: PMC7826609 DOI: 10.3390/insects12010063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Revised: 01/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Captopus depressiceps gen. et sp. nov., Electrothroscus yanpingae gen. et sp. nov. and Pseudopactopus robustus gen. et sp. nov. are reported from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. These new findings greatly extend the Mesozoic diversity of Throscidae, which implies a high degree of morphological disparity for this family in the Cretaceous.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan-Da Li
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; (Y.-D.L.); (D.-Y.H.)
- School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Di-Ying Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; (Y.-D.L.); (D.-Y.H.)
| | - Chen-Yang Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; (Y.-D.L.); (D.-Y.H.)
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
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Muona J, Chang H, Ren D. The Clicking Elateroidea from Chinese Mesozoic Deposits (Insecta, Coleoptera). Insects 2020; 11:E875. [PMID: 33316966 PMCID: PMC7764174 DOI: 10.3390/insects11120875] [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] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2020] [Revised: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Recent molecular studies have suggested that the clicking beetle families Elateridae, Eucnemidae, Throscidae, and Cerophytidae evolved in the Jurassic and diversified in the Cretaceous. These studies paid little attention to fossils, using them only as dating tools. The identification of Elateridae fossils is challenging, as external synapomorphies are not known for this family. Elateridae can be identified only as something not belonging to the other related families, all of which have diagnostic synapomorphies. Most subfamilies and tribes of Elateridae do possess definite diagnostic characters, however, making their identification feasible. We checked the 28 Elateridae described from Chinese Mesozoic deposits. Twelve were Elateridae, seven were Eucnemidae, and one was a Throscidae. Three species could be Eucnemidae, but showed aberrant characters. Five species could not be placed and may not belong to Elateroidea at all. On the basis of these results we suggest that all previously described Elateridae fossils should be re-checked. They should be searched for synapomorphies defining Eucnemidae, Throscidae, and Cerophytidae. If such characters are not present, a click beetle type of fossil can be placed in Elateroidae incertae sedis. The Mesozoic Chinese Elateridae fossils all belong to clades that do not exist today, whereas the Mesozoic Eucnemidae subfamilies are extant ones. This may be the source of the disagreement between Elateridae fossil age and datings based on molecular studies. One new combination was made: Desmatus ponomarenkoi (Chang, Kiretjshuk & Ren, 2009) NEW COMBINATION (= Paradesmatus ponomarenkoi Chang, Kirejtshuk & Ren, 2009).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jyrki Muona
- Zoology Unit, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Huali Chang
- Henan Geological Museum, Jinshuidonglu 18, Zhengdongxin Dsitrict, Zhengzhou 450016, China;
| | - Dong Ren
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Xisanhuanbeilu 105, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China;
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Schmidt AR, Regalado L, Weststrand S, Korall P, Sadowski EM, Schneider H, Jansen E, Bechteler J, Krings M, Müller P, Wang B, Wang X, Rikkinen J, Seyfullah LJ. Selaginella was hyperdiverse already in the Cretaceous. New Phytol 2020; 228:1176-1182. [PMID: 32282937 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander R Schmidt
- Department of Geobiology, University of Göttingen, Goldschmidtstraße 3, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ledis Regalado
- Instituto de Ecología y Sistemática, Carretera de Varona 11835 e/Oriente y Lindero, La Habana 19, CP 11900, Calabazar, Boyeros, La Habana, Cuba
| | - Stina Weststrand
- Gothenburg Botanical Garden, Carl Skottsbergs gata 22A, 413 19, Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Petra Korall
- Systematic Biology, Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Eva-Maria Sadowski
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - Harald Schneider
- Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Menglun, 666303, Yunnan, China
| | - Eva Jansen
- Department of Geobiology, University of Göttingen, Goldschmidtstraße 3, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Julia Bechteler
- Nees-Institut für Biodiversität der Pflanzen, Universität Bonn, Meckenheimer Allee 170, 53115, Bonn, Germany
| | - Michael Krings
- SNSB-Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, Richard-Wagner-Straße 10, 80333, Munich, Germany
- Department für Geo- und Umweltwissenschaften, Paläontologie und Geobiologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Richard-Wagner-Straße 10, 80333, Munich, Germany
| | - Patrick Müller
- Amber Study Group, c/o Geological-Palaeontological Museum (CeNak) of the University of Hamburg, Bundesstraße 55, 20146, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Bo Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing, 210008, China
| | - Xin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing, 210008, China
| | - Jouko Rikkinen
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, PO Box 7, 00014, Helsinki, Finland
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 65, 00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Leyla J Seyfullah
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria
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Tihelka E, Cai C, Giacomelli M, Pisani D, Donoghue PCJ. Integrated phylogenomic and fossil evidence of stick and leaf insects (Phasmatodea) reveal a Permian-Triassic co-origination with insectivores. R Soc Open Sci 2020; 7:201689. [PMID: 33391817 PMCID: PMC7735357 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Stick and leaf insects (Phasmatodea) are a distinctive insect order whose members are characterized by mimicking various plant tissues such as twigs, foliage and bark. Unfortunately, the phylogenetic relationships among phasmatodean subfamilies and the timescale of their evolution remain uncertain. Recent molecular clock analyses have suggested a Cretaceous-Palaeogene origin of crown Phasmatodea and a subsequent Cenozoic radiation, contrasting with fossil evidence. Here, we analysed transcriptomic data from a broad diversity of phasmatodeans and, combined with the assembly of a new suite of fossil calibrations, we elucidate the evolutionary history of stick and leaf insects. Our results differ from recent studies in the position of the leaf insects (Phylliinae), which are recovered as sister to a clade comprising Clitumninae, Lancerocercata, Lonchodinae, Necrosciinae and Xenophasmina. We recover a Permian to Triassic origin of crown Phasmatodea coinciding with the radiation of early insectivorous parareptiles, amphibians and synapsids. Aschiphasmatinae and Neophasmatodea diverged in the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous. A second spur in origination occurred in the Late Cretaceous, coinciding with the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution, and was probably driven by visual predators such as stem birds (Enantiornithes) and the radiation of angiosperms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik Tihelka
- School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Chenyang Cai
- School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and Centre for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, People's Republic of China
| | - Mattia Giacomelli
- School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Davide Pisani
- School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Philip C. J. Donoghue
- School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
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48
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Nesbitt SJ, Zawiskie JM, Dawley RM. The osteology and phylogenetic position of the loricatan (Archosauria: Pseudosuchia) Heptasuchus clarki, from the ?Mid-Upper Triassic, southeastern Big Horn Mountains, Central Wyoming (USA). PeerJ 2020; 8:e10101. [PMID: 33194383 PMCID: PMC7597643 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10101] [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] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Loricatan pseudosuchians (known as "rauisuchians") typically consist of poorly understood fragmentary remains known worldwide from the Middle Triassic to the end of the Triassic Period. Renewed interest and the discovery of more complete specimens recently revolutionized our understanding of the relationships of archosaurs, the origin of Crocodylomorpha, and the paleobiology of these animals. However, there are still few loricatans known from the Middle to early portion of the Late Triassic and the forms that occur during this time are largely known from southern Pangea or Europe. Heptasuchus clarki was the first formally recognized North American "rauisuchian" and was collected from a poorly sampled and disparately fossiliferous sequence of Triassic strata in North America. Exposed along the trend of the Casper Arch flanking the southeastern Big Horn Mountains, the type locality of Heptasuchus clarki occurs within a sequence of red beds above the Alcova Limestone and Crow Mountain formations within the Chugwater Group. The age of the type locality is poorly constrained to the Middle-early Late Triassic and is likely similar to or just older than that of the Popo Agie Formation assemblage from the western portion of Wyoming. The holotype consists of associated cranial elements found in situ, and the referred specimens consist of crania and postcrania. Thus, about 30% of the osteology of the taxon is preserved. All of the pseudosuchian elements collected at the locality appear to belong to Heptasuchus clarki and the taxon is not a chimera as previously hypothesized. Heptasuchus clarki is distinct from all other archosaurs by the presence of large, posteriorly directed flanges on the parabasisphenoid and a distinct, orbit-overhanging postfrontal. Our phylogenetic hypothesis posits a sister-taxon relationship between Heptasuchus clarki and the Ladinian-aged Batrachotomus kupferzellensis from current-day Germany within Loricata. These two taxa share a number of apomorphies from across the skull and their phylogenetic position further supports 'rauisuchian' paraphyly. A minimum of three individuals of Heptasuchus are present at the type locality suggesting that a group of individuals died together, similar to other aggregations of loricatans (e.g., Heptasuchus, Batrachotomus, Decuriasuchus, Postosuchus).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - John M. Zawiskie
- Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA
- Department of Geology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
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Coiro M, Martínez LCA, Upchurch GR, Doyle JA. Evidence for an extinct lineage of angiosperms from the Early Cretaceous of Patagonia and implications for the early radiation of flowering plants. New Phytol 2020; 228:344-360. [PMID: 32400897 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16657] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The pinnately lobed Aptian leaf fossil Mesodescolea plicata was originally described as a cycad, but new evidence from cuticle structure suggests that it is an angiosperm. Here we document the morphology and cuticle anatomy of Mesodescolea and explore its significance for early angiosperm evolution. We observed macrofossils and cuticles of Mesodescolea with light, scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy, and used phylogenetic methods to test its relationships among extant angiosperms. Mesodescolea has chloranthoid teeth and tertiary veins forming elongate areoles. Its cuticular morphology and ultrastructure reject cycadalean affinities, whereas its guard cell shape and stomatal ledges are angiospermous. It shares variable stomatal complexes and epidermal oil cells with angiosperm leaves from the lower Potomac Group. Phylogenetic analyses and hypothesis testing support its placement within the basal ANITA grade, most likely in Austrobaileyales, but it diverges markedly in leaf form and venation. Although many Early Cretaceous angiosperms fall within the morphological range of extant taxa, Mesodescolea reveals unexpected early morphological and ecophysiological trends. Its similarity to other Early Cretaceous lobate leaves, many identified previously as eudicots but in some cases pre-dating the appearance of tricolpate pollen, may indicate that Mesodescolea is part of a larger extinct lineage of angiosperms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Coiro
- Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, Zurich, 8008, Switzerland
| | - Leandro C A Martínez
- Instituto de Botánica Darwinion (ANCEFN - CONICET), Labardén 200, San Isidro, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Garland R Upchurch
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, 78666, USA
| | - James A Doyle
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
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Ševčík J, Krzemiński W, Skibińska K. Intriguing and Beautiful: Adamacrocera adami gen. et sp. nov. from the Upper Cretaceous Amber of Myanmar Represents a New Subfamily of Keroplatidae (Diptera: Bibionomorpha). Insects 2020; 11:insects11090552. [PMID: 32825188 PMCID: PMC7565936 DOI: 10.3390/insects11090552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Revised: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
A new fossil genus and species of Keroplatidae (Diptera, Bibionomorpha, Sciaroidea), Adamacrocera adami gen. et sp. nov., from the Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber is described and illustrated. Based on morphological evidence, it is placed in a new subfamily Adamacrocerinae subfam. nov. The new genus, as well as the subfamily, possesses the wing venation characteristic of the genera of some Sciaroidea incertae sedis, as well as that of the fossil families Archizelmiridae, Antefungivoridae and Mesosciophilidae, in combination with macrocerine-like habitus and male terminalia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Ševčík
- Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Chittussiho 10, 71000 Ostrava, Czech Republic;
| | - Wiesław Krzemiński
- Institute of Biology, Pedagogical University of Kraków, Podbrzezie 3, 31-054 Kraków, Poland;
| | - Kornelia Skibińska
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, 31-016 Kraków, Poland
- Correspondence:
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