Showing papers in "Historical Biology in 2018"
TL;DR: Burmese amber is an extremely important source of mid-Cretaceous plant and animal remains with over 870 species of organisms, ranging from protozoa to vertebrates, described from this source.
Abstract: Burmese amber is an extremely important source of mid-Cretaceous plant and animal remains with over 870 species of organisms, ranging from protozoa to vertebrates, described from this source. The a...
92 citations
TL;DR: Dental topographic metrics are suggested to be informative to the study of paromomyids for both dietary categorisation and for the distinction of species at a fine taxonomic level.
Abstract: Plesiadapiforms, appearing near the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, represent the first primate radiation and show a diverse array of tooth morphologies. Dental topographic metrics provide quantitat...
69 citations
TL;DR: Following recognition that birds most probably constitute a clade within the more inclusive clade of dinosaurs, considerable Interest has focused on light the biology of birds might shed on that of the dinosaurs as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Following recognition that birds most probably constitute a clade within the more inclusive clade of dinosaurs, considerable Interest has focused on light the biology of birds might shed on that of...
58 citations
TL;DR: Bayesian tip-dating analysis, when combined with Bayesian biogeographic analysis, suggests that a common ancestor of known caenopithecines dispersed to Afro-Arabia from Europe between 49.4 and 47.4 Ma, and that a trans-Tethyan back-dispersal explains Caenopitalcus’ later presence in Europe.
Abstract: Caenopithecine adapiform primates are currently represented by two genera from the late Eocene of Egypt (Afradapis and Aframonius) and one from the middle Eocene of Switzerland (Caenopithecus). All...
52 citations
TL;DR: Jurabrontes curtedulensis, a new ichnogenus and species of Late Jurassic giant theropod dinosaur track is described based on very well-preserved and morphologically-distinct tracks, all carefully excavated along federal highway A16 (Canton Jura, NW Switzerland).
Abstract: Jurabrontes curtedulensis, a new ichnogenus and species of Late Jurassic giant theropod dinosaur track is described based on very well-preserved and morphologically-distinct tracks, all carefully excavated along federal highway A16 (Canton Jura, NW Switzerland). All trackways were systematically documented including parameter measurements, descriptions, outline drawings, orthophotos and laserscans. Jurabrontes is characterised by sub-equal track length and width, a small anterior triangle, weak mesaxony, three blunt digits (dII-III-IV) with pronounced (sub)triangular claw marks, a rounded heel, and clear phalangeal pad impressions. The combination of features of Jurabrontes is typical for a theropod (and not ornithopod) trackmaker. Jurabrontes is compared to other similar ichnotaxa and unnamed tracks of large theropods from the Early Jurassic to Late Cretaceous, from which it is clearly different. The sheer size of the largest tracks, that are amongst the largest worldwide and of similar size to T...
39 citations
TL;DR: Bone refits can be a useful tool to understand the archaeological assemblages from a taphonomic point of view, they have been used to reinforce some aspects related to the formation processes of t....
Abstract: Bone refits can be a useful tool to understand the archaeological assemblages. From a taphonomic point of view, they have been used to reinforce some aspects related to the formation processes of t...
36 citations
TL;DR: It is concluded that both primary and secondary diet choices select for occlusal form, and that functional morphology more reflects the types of foods and mechanical challenges they pose rather than the frequencies in which they are eaten.
Abstract: More than half a century ago, Percy Butler touted the importance of analyzing teeth to understand their function in an evolutionary context. There have been many advances in the study of dental fun...
35 citations
TL;DR: For instance, it has been accepted that hominids emerged during the Pliocene in a savanna environment in which a terrestrial quadruped gradually developed bipedal adaptations as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: It has long been accepted that hominids emerged during the Pliocene in a savannah environment in which a terrestrial quadruped gradually developed bipedal adaptations. However, data from the Late M...
31 citations
TL;DR: Turtle trackways are quite distinctive: the manus and pes form tracks nearly parallel to the midline and indicate an unusually wide gait in which the trackway width is nearly equal to the stride length.
Abstract: Turtle (Testudines) tracks, Chelonipus torquatus, reported from the early Middle Triassic (Anisian) of Germany, and Chelonipus isp. from the late Early Triassic (Spathian) of Wyoming and Utah, are the oldest fossil evidence of turtles, but have been omitted in recent discussions of turtle origins. These tracks provide significant clues as to how early the turtle Bauplan originated. Turtle trackways are quite distinctive: the manus and pes form tracks nearly parallel to the midline and indicate an unusually wide gait in which the trackway width is nearly equal to the stride length. These tracks do not fit what would be expected to be made by Triassic Pappochelys or Odontochelys, a supposed prototurtle and an early turtle, respectively. In contrast, these tracks are consistent with what would be expected from the Triassic turtles Proganochelys and Palaeochersis. The features inferred to be present in Triassic turtle tracks support the notion that Odontochelys is a derived aquatic branch of the turtl...
31 citations
TL;DR: A pilot taphonomic study of a Moroccan Tyto alba nest pellets including the whole taxa consumed, which found higher modification levels for this assemblage compared to roost sites of barn owls from other sites and differences between the taxa.
Abstract: Most small terrestrial vertebrate accumulations in archaeological and palaeontological sites result from predation but we are far from having an exhaustive knowledge of modern predators’ diet, ecol...
29 citations
TL;DR: It is proposed that shifts towards higher metabolic levels can enable the same activity and feeding strategy to be maintained at bigger body sizes, offering a satisfactory explanation for the evolution of gigantism in active predators, including a vast quantity of fossil taxa.
Abstract: A novel hypothesis to better understand the evolution of gigantism in active marine predators and the diversity of body sizes, feeding strategies and thermophysiologies of extinct and living aquati...
TL;DR: The abundant and diverse fossil record of protohypsodont dinomyids suggests that an important radiative event may have occurred during the middle–late Miocene of northern South America.
Abstract: Recently, the fossil record of rodents from southwestern Brazilian Amazonia has been reviewed with regards to its diversity as well as its ecological relationships. In the reviews, the necessity to report new specimens collected with stratigraphic control was stated. Here, a new dinomyid specimen collected during a 2015 expedition to the Niteroi locality, Acre River, is reported. The material is a fragment of skull with the right P4–M1 and the left P4–M2 preserved. The cheek teeth are protohypsodont, a characteristic employed to differentiate Potamarchinae dinomyids from the euhypsodont dinomyids Eumegamyinae and Tetrastylinae. The occlusal surface of the cheek teeth is composed of lophs with interruptions, showing little wear, which suggests that the specimen is not fully ontogenetically developed. The specimen has a unique combination of characters (protohypsodont and pentalophodont cheek teeth, with the leading edges of similar thickness to the trailing edges, and presence of a groove on the bo...
TL;DR: The present work attempts to elucidate the subsistence strategies occurring through the Late Pleistocene in Iberia using the example of the Molí del Salt (Tarragona, Spain), an archaeological site located in the NE of the Iberian Peninsula.
Abstract: Small game seems to have increased during the Upper Palaeolithic to the detriment of large game on the Iberian Peninsula. The economical and socio-cultural factors associated with this ecological s...
TL;DR: This work presents the analysis of ingested and non-ingested faunal remains predated and accumulated by this raptor in two different nesting areas from the Iberian Peninsula to recognise golden eagles as agents of animal bones accumulations in the fossil record.
Abstract: The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is one of the most important birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. This raptor is used to building large nests in high cliffs to which they return for sever...
TL;DR: It is indicated that all Mesopotamian specimens belong to Phoberomys burmeisteri, and that the differences among them reveal individual and ontogenetic variation, and the phylogenetic analysis indicates that Neoepiblemidae is monophyletic and includes Phberomys, Neoepibles, and Perimys.
Abstract: Phoberomys is a giant caviomorph rodent included in the extinct Neoepiblemidae. It is recorded in the late Miocene-Pliocene of South America (Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil and Peru), and is one of the largest rodents that have ever lived. In this contribution we study specimens of Phoberomys from the ‘Mesopotamiense’, late Miocene of Entre Rios Province (Argentina), including several unpublished specimens and the holotypes of the five nominal species (Ph. burmeisteri, Ph. praecursor, Ph. insolita, Ph. lozanoi and Ph. minima) previously recognised for this unit. Our study indicates that all Mesopotamian specimens belong to Phoberomys burmeisteri, and that the differences among them reveal individual and ontogenetic variation. Our phylogenetic analysis indicates that Neoepiblemidae is monophyletic and includes Phoberomys, Neoepiblema, and Perimys. Phoberomys species are recovered as a clade, which is more closely related to Neoepiblema than to the Patagonian Perimys. In addition, our study shows that...
TL;DR: In this paper, microstructural post mortem changes to skeletal tissues by microorganisms are driven by several factors including the death history of an animal, its decomposition trajectory, and the depositing en...
Abstract: Microstructural post mortem changes to skeletal tissues by microorganisms are driven by several factors including the death history of an animal, its decomposition trajectory, and the depositing en...
TL;DR: The data supports the hypothesis of the neurological evolution of the mammalian lineage starting with a trend for an increase of the olfactory bulbs, which is associated with adaptations in the nasal cavity, and suggests an initial improvement of the sensory receptor system leading to further development of the ‘superior’ structures for sensorial processing and integration.
Abstract: A digital cranial endocast of the specimen UFRGS-PV-596-T of Riograndia guaibensis was obtained from μCT scan images. This is a small cynodont, closely related to mammaliaforms, from the Late Trias...
TL;DR: The second known specimen (CAPPA/UFSM 0123) of Prozostrodon brasiliensis is described, showing that the adult individual has more postcanine tooth morphotypes than the juvenile one.
Abstract: Probainognathian cynodonts are conspicuous elements of the Assemblage Zones of the Triassic Santa Maria Supersequence in southern Brazil. Within this group, the derived clade Prozostrodontia, in which the crown group Mammalia is included, is taxonomic diverse in the Hyperodapedon and Riograndia AZs. We describe here the second known specimen (CAPPA/UFSM 0123) of Prozostrodon brasiliensis, until now only represented by its holotype. CAPPA/UFSM 0123 includes a right dentary with dentition. As in the holotype of P. brasiliensis, it has four lower incisors, pc4 with conspicuous cusp a, and small cusps b, c, and d, pc5-pc6 of ‘triconodont’ type with cusps a > c > b > d, with continuous lingual cingulum bearing up to six small discrete cusps, length of the lower tooth row more than half the length of the dentary, and relatively deep horizontal ramus of the dentary. The new specimen is about 25% smaller than the holotype and there is not a diastema between the canine and postcanine teeth, indicating its ...
TL;DR: A new phylogenetic hypothesis is proposed that resolves Iguanodon with the Valanginian Barilium dawsoni into a monophyletic clade (Iguanodontoidea), and can now be identified by three autapomorphies in the dentary, ischium and femur.
Abstract: Iguanodon galvensis is the second valid species in the European and Barremian large-ornithopod genus Iguanodon. In the present work, the I. galvensis holotype and referred material from the lower Barremian of Spain are described and discussed in detail. As a result, emended diagnoses of Iguanodon, I. galvensis and I. bernissartensis are proposed; I. galvensis can now be identified by three autapomorphies in the dentary, ischium and femur as well as a unique combination of characters. Moreover, I. galvensis is compared with other European Early Cretaceous large styracosternans. Finally, a new phylogenetic hypothesis is proposed that resolves Iguanodon (I. bernissartensis, I. galvensis) with the Valanginian Barilium dawsoni into a monophyletic clade (Iguanodontoidea).
TL;DR: An assemblage of microfossils consisting of non-marine ostracods (Cypridopsis, Gomphocythere, Zonocypris, Eucypris and Frambocythere), charophyte gyrogonites (Platychara), molluscs (Vivipa...
Abstract: An assemblage of microfossils consisting of non-marine ostracods (Cypridopsis, Gomphocythere, Zonocypris, Eucypris, and Frambocythere), charophyte gyrogonites (Platychara), molluscs (Vivipa...
TL;DR: Many types of wear facets can be found in mammalian teeth, some of which are related to the initial surface, others use the cross-section of the enamel as the main tool.
Abstract: Many types of wear facets can be found in mammalian teeth. Some are related to the initial surface, others use the cross-section of the enamel as the main tool. In primary occlusal surfaces facets ...
TL;DR: In this paper, three species within the genus Calophyllum collected from middle Miocene Fotan Group sediments in Zhangpu County, Fujian, southeastern China are described.
Abstract: Three species within the genus Calophyllum collected from middle Miocene Fotan Group sediments in Zhangpu County, Fujian, southeastern China are described in this paper. These fossils include Calop...
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of mammalian carnivore taphonomy in southern South America is presented, including pumas, small cats, foxes, and other smaller carnivores.
Abstract: Actualistic studies on mammalian carnivore taphonomy in southern South America are reviewed here, including pumas, small cats, foxes, and other, smaller carnivores. Patterns for different carnivore...
TL;DR: The phylogenetic analyses confirm that Eolacertidae is a member of the clade Lacertiformes and provide strong support for a sister-group relationship to Lacertidae, Europe’s dominant group of living reptiles.
Abstract: We describe a new lizard taxon, Stefanikia siderea gen et sp nov, from the early-middle Eocene locality of Messel in Germany based on a nearly complete skeleton, which we studied using μCT methods It shares many characters with the Eocene taxon Eolacerta, which is broadly distributed in the Eocene of central and Western Europe, but is much smaller and shows several important anatomical differences The new discovery sheds light on the paleodiversity of these lizards in the Eocene of Europe, and the new family name Eolacertidae is proposed to encompass Eolacerta and Stefanikia The relationships of Eolacerta have been intractable Our phylogenetic analyses confirm that Eolacertidae is a member of the clade Lacertiformes and provide strong support for a sister-group relationship to Lacertidae In some places, skin impressions are preserved, displaying the body scalation As such, the exquisitely preserved specimens of Eolacertidae from Messel provide new insight into the morphology and ecology o
TL;DR: The fossil record demonstrates that this mechanism characterises elephantimorph proboscideans and first evolved in the late Oligocene, and rare occurrences of premolars in mammoths support the hypothesis that these teeth were lost by suppression of genetic and molecular processes responsible for their development.
Abstract: Modern elephants lack permanent premolars and their cheek teeth succeed one another by an unusual horizontal tooth displacement mechanism. The fossil record demonstrates that this mechanism charact...
TL;DR: Series two marks a revolution in Cambrian predation when new predators and new predation methods appeared, which led to general increase in predation intensities and in the diversity of prey groups.
Abstract: Series two marks a revolution in Cambrian predation when new predators and new predation methods appeared, which led to general increase in predation intensities and in the diversity of prey groups The number of bored taxa and taxa with the predation scars is similar in the Cambrian Most of the borings are associated with brachiopods and most of the scars with trilobites Brachiopods, arthropods, molluscs, cnidarians and echinoderms were the most common prey in the Cambrian The Cambrian record of predation is dominated by damage inflicted on brachiopods and trilobites The fossils with predation signs are known from a majority of paleocontinents and all the Cambrian series
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors presented new dinosaur specimens recovered from Upper Cretaceous outcrops of the southeastern portion of Mato Grosso State, Brazil, which enabled the first report of a megaraptor theropod based on a vertebral centrum and the description of abelisaurid (a fragmentary tooth) and titanosaur remains (a tooth and a fragment of a dorsal vertebra).
Abstract: Mato Grosso State is the main area of paleontological investigations in central Brazil, especially regarding Upper Cretaceous beds. Fossil collection in the surroundings of the Morro do Cambambe started as early as late nineteenth century, but prospections and studies are still ongoing. This contribution presents new dinosaur specimens recovered from Upper Cretaceous outcrops of the southeastern portion of Mato Grosso State. These remains enabled the first report of a megaraptoran theropod based on a vertebral centrum and the description of abelisaurid (a fragmentary tooth) and titanosaur remains (a tooth and a fragment of a dorsal vertebra). Based on the amount of compiled reports of tetrapod remains from Mato Grosso, mainly from meeting abstracts and technical reports, the evidence at hand indicates a diverse Upper Cretaceous tetrapod assemblage still poorly explored in comparison to other Upper Cretaceous units of Brazil and Gondwana, in general.
TL;DR: It is concluded that the enamel knot cascade does impose constraints on the evolution of molar shape, but that it is so permissive that the divergences among soricines do not fully explore its confines.
Abstract: The developmental gene expression, morphogenesis, and population variation in mammalian molar teeth has become increasingly well understood, providing a model system for synthesizing evolution and ...
TL;DR: A new dimylid species, Plesiodimylus ilercavonicus sp.
Abstract: We report a new dimylid species, Plesiodimylus ilercavonicus sp. nov., from the Early Miocene locality of Mas d’Antolino B-5 (Ribesalbes-Alcora, Castello, Spain). This new species of Plesiodimylus is an amblyodont form of the genus and exhibits some primitive characters. The phylogenetic and palaeoenvironmental implications of this southern occurrence of Plesiodimylus in Lower Miocene sediments are discussed.urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:EB5435A4-EECE-4B88-B5AC-4B77E2E13029
TL;DR: New insights are offered on the type species – A. araripensis – based on a complete new description of all its morphological characters and a comparative study of several other Mawsoniidae species.
Abstract: Axelrodichtys is a genus of fossil coelacanth of the family Mawsoniidae with a wide spatial and temporal range, spanning from the Aptian/Albian of Brazil to the Campanian of France. In light of new...