We redescribe the only previously known species of Myrsidea from bulbuls, M. pycnonoti Eichler. Sixteen new species are described; they and their type hosts are: M. phillipsi ex Pycnonotus goiavier goiavier (Scopoli), M. gieferi ex P. goiavier suluensis Mearns, M. kulpai ex P. flavescens Blyth, M. finlaysoni ex P. finlaysoni Strickland, M. kathleenae ex P. cafer (L.), M. warwicki ex Ixos philippinus (J. R. Forster), M. mcclurei ex Microscelis amaurotis (Temminck), M. zeylanici ex P. zeylanicus (Gmelin), M. plumosi ex P. plumosus Blyth, M. eutiloti ex P. eutilotus (Jardine and Selby), M. adamsae ex P. urostictus (Salvadori), M. ochracei ex Criniger ochraceus F. Moore, M. borbonici ex Hypsipetes borbonicus (J. R. Forster), M. johnsoni ex P. atriceps (Temminck), M. palmai ex C. ochraceus, and M. claytoni ex P. eutilotus. A key is provided for the identification of these 17 species.

A new species

The ascendancy of dinosaurs on land near the close of the Triassic now appears to have been as accidental and opportunistic as their demise and replacement by therian mammals at the end of the Cretaceous. The dinosaurian radiation, launched by 1-meter-long bipeds, was slower in tempo and more restricted in adaptive scope than that of therian mammals. A notable exception was the evolution of birds from small-bodied predatory dinosaurs, which involved a dramatic decrease in body size. Recurring phylogenetic trends among dinosaurs include, to the contrary, increase in body size. There is no evidence for co-evolution between predators and prey or between herbivores and flowering plants. As the major land masses drifted apart, dinosaurian biogeography was molded more by regional extinction and intercontinental dispersal than by the breakup sequence of Pangaea.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/284/5423/2137.full.pdf

The evolution of dinosaurs

Archosaurs have a nearly 250 million year record that originated shortly after the Permian-Triassic extinction event and is continued today by two extant clades, the crocodylians and the avians. The two extant lineages exemplify two bauplan extremes among a diverse and complex evolutionary history, but little is known about the common ancestor of these lineages. Renewed interest in early archosaurs has led to nearly a doubling of the known taxa in the last 20 years. This study presents a thorough phylogenetic analysis of 80 species-level taxa ranging from the latest Permian to the early part of the Jurassic using a dataset of 412 characters. Each terminal taxon is explicitly described and all specimens used in the analysis are clearly stated. Additionally, each character is discussed in detail and nearly all of the character states are illustrated in either a drawing or highlighted on a specimen photograph. A combination of novel characters and comprehensive character sampling has bridged previou...

The Early Evolution of Archosaurs: Relationships and the Origin of Major Clades

Although sauropods played a major role in terrestrial ecosystems during much of the Mesozoic Era, little effort has been directed toward diagnosing Sauropoda and establishing higher-level interrela...

Early Evolution and Higher-Level Phylogeny of Sauropod Dinosaurs

Ichnology is the study of traces created in the substrate by living organisms. This is the first book to systematically cover basic concepts and applications in both paleobiology and sedimentology, bridging the gap between the two main facets of the field. It emphasizes the importance of understanding ecologic controls on benthic fauna distribution and the role of burrowing organisms in changing their environments. A detailed analysis of the ichnology of a range of depositional environments is presented using examples from the Precambrian to the recent, and the use of trace fossils in facies analysis and sequence stratigraphy is discussed. The potential for biogenic structures to provide valuable information and solve problems in a wide range of fields is also highlighted. An invaluable resource for researchers and graduate students in paleontology, sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy, this book will also be of interest to industry professionals working in petroleum geoscience.

Ichnology: Organism-Substrate Interactions in Space and Time

Skull and atlas-axis complex of the Upper Jurassic sauropod Camarasaurus Cope (Reptilia: Saurischia)

An articulated partial skeleton, including a nearly complete skull and left forelimb, of a crocodylomorph reptile from the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation of Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, is referable to Hesperosuchus agilis Colbert, 1952. It contributes much new information on the skeletal structure of this previously poorly known taxon. A large, circular palpebral bone is present in each orbit. The quadratojugal is particularly well preserved and suggests a reinterpretation of this element in related taxa including Sphenosuchus. Previous analyses of sphenosuchian relationships reached conflicting results, and a critical review of the characters used in these analyses is presented. A phylogenetic analysis of basal crocodylomorph taxa provides weak support for sphenosuchian monophyly, placing Hesperosuchus with Saltoposuchus, Dibothrosuchus, and Sphenosuchus.

/pdf/a-new-specimen-of-hesperosuchus-agilis-from-the-upper-1zoil7t42y.pdf

A new specimen of Hesperosuchus agilis from the Upper Triassic of New Mexico and the interrelationships of basal crocodylomorph archosaurs

Two recently discovered skeletons of the enigmatic Lower Permian reptile Araeoscelis provide important, additional information on its osteology and permit a reassessment of its phylogenetic relationships. A combination of primitive and derived characters shared by Araeoscelis and Petrolacosaurus justifies their inclusion in the suborder Araeoscelidia as members of separate families and indicates that they represent the earliest, most primitive known stage in the adaptive radiation of the diapsid reptiles. Araeoscelis exhibits a suite of unusual cranial features resulting in a massive, sturdily constructed skull, which is interpreted as an adaptation to a specialized diet that probably included invertebrates protected by heavy exoskeletons. This theory is also used to explain the absence of a lower temporal fenestra in Araeoscelis as the result of secondary closure. Some cranial features are noted that support this hypothesis.

/pdf/the-anatomy-and-relationships-of-the-lower-permian-reptile-eno7l6quft.pdf

The anatomy and relationships of the Lower Permian reptile Araeoscelis

As a single stratigraphic source and site of high-fidelity vertebrate trackways and superbly preserved skeletons, the Lower Permian Tambach Formation, lowermost unit of the Upper Rotliegend, of the Bromacker locality in the middle part of the Thuringian Forest near Gotha, central Germany, provides a unique opportunity of matching late Paleozoic trackways with their trackmakers. Here the track-trackmaker association is firmly established between two species of the ichnogenus Ichniotherium, Ichniotherium cottae and Ichniotherium sphaerodactylum, and the skeletal fossils of the closely related diadectids Diadectes absitus and Orobates pabsti, respectively. These are the first well-documented species-level identifications of the trackmakers of Paleozoic trackways. The Ichniotherium ichnospecies are principally separated by the relative lengths of the digits of the pes imprint and the degree of overstepping of the pes and manus imprints. Both characters are shown to be clearly due to differences in th...

First well-established track-trackmaker association of paleozoic tetrapods based on Ichniotherium trackways and diadectid skeletons from the Lower Permian of Germany

David S Berman

Papers

Skull and atlas-axis complex of the Upper Jurassic sauropod Camarasaurus Cope (Reptilia: Saurischia)

A new specimen of Hesperosuchus agilis from the Upper Triassic of New Mexico and the interrelationships of basal crocodylomorph archosaurs

The anatomy and relationships of the Lower Permian reptile Araeoscelis

First well-established track-trackmaker association of paleozoic tetrapods based on Ichniotherium trackways and diadectid skeletons from the Lower Permian of Germany

Skull and relationships of the Upper Jurassic sauropod Apatosaurus (Reptilia, Saurischia)