GeobiosPub Date : 2025-03-26DOI: 10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.007
Jesús Marugán-Lobón , Sergio M. Nebreda
{"title":"Craniocervical morphological integration in birds","authors":"Jesús Marugán-Lobón , Sergio M. Nebreda","doi":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the morphological diversity of the neck and its integration with skull anatomy in crown-group birds (Neornithes). The craniocervical articulation, where the skull connects with the neck, can adopt either caudal (rearward) or ventral (downward) orientations. Morphological coherence is crucial for maintaining head stability and precise movement, suggesting that the evolution of these structures must be not only functionally, but also developmentally coordinated (i.e., morphologically integrated). To explore this hypothesis, the relationship between conventional morphometric data of the neck and geometric morphometric data of the skull were assessed using multivariate statistics (Regressions and Two-block Partial Least Squares) across a broad phylogenetic range of Neornithes. Results indicate a significant level of integration between neck and skull morphologies, where variation in neck length, vertebral counts and relative lengths correspond predictably with specific craniocervical articulations. The most pronounced skull variation occurs around the occipital region, which we interpret as possibly relating to the mesodermic origin and shared genetic signalling in the morphogenesis of all craniocervical bones. Additionally, craniofacial changes align with craniocervical modifications, implying that the skull and neck evolve as a unified yet modular system. Analysis of selected fossils (<em>Tsaagan</em>, <em>Archaeopteryx</em>, and <em>Pengornis</em>) suggests that the ancestral craniocervical configuration was caudal, with neck changes associated with the development of a beak and craniocervical ventralization emerging in the lineage leading to modern birds.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55116,"journal":{"name":"Geobios","volume":"90 ","pages":"Pages 77-85"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143928088","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GeobiosPub Date : 2025-03-25DOI: 10.1016/j.geobios.2025.03.001
Francisco J. Serrano , Luis M. Chiappe , Ursula B. Göhlich
{"title":"Foreword for the Proceedings of the 10th International Meeting of the Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution","authors":"Francisco J. Serrano , Luis M. Chiappe , Ursula B. Göhlich","doi":"10.1016/j.geobios.2025.03.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geobios.2025.03.001","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":55116,"journal":{"name":"Geobios","volume":"90 ","pages":"Pages 1-4"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143927437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GeobiosPub Date : 2025-03-06DOI: 10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.005
Junya Watanabe
{"title":"Aspects of diversity, paleobiology, and morphology of wing-propelled diving birds","authors":"Junya Watanabe","doi":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bird wings are typically regarded as an apparatus for aerial flight, but many birds are known to use their wings to propel themselves in the water. Although this mode of locomotion, the wing-propelled diving, has attained much attention from ornithologists and paleornithologists, systematic understanding of its diversity has been lacking. This paper attempts to provide an overview on this topic, gleaning information from disparate bodies of literature. Despite the common perception that wing-propelled diving is a relatively specialized mode of locomotion, it has been documented in a number of casual divers as well as many birds usually considered as specialized foot-propelled divers. The fossil record of wing-propelled divers reveals a previously unrecognized morphological diversity in these birds, although difficulty remains on how to reliably infer the presence of this locomotor mode in extinct taxa. Recent anatomical studies have indicated that evolutionary pathways toward wing-propelled diving can be more complicated and diverse than one would assume from the stereotypic idea of evolutionary convergence. Future investigations equipped with well-resolved phylogeny and sophisticated analytical techniques will undoubtedly shed light into more nuanced aspects of the evolution of this mode of locomotion.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55116,"journal":{"name":"Geobios","volume":"90 ","pages":"Pages 143-161"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143928092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GeobiosPub Date : 2025-03-05DOI: 10.1016/j.geobios.2024.08.020
Jessie Atterholt , Jingmai K. O’Connor , Hailu You
{"title":"Osteohistology of enantiornithine birds from the Lower Cretaceous Xiagou Formation","authors":"Jessie Atterholt , Jingmai K. O’Connor , Hailu You","doi":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.08.020","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.08.020","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We describe the osteohistology of five enantiornithine bird specimens from Lower Cretaceous Xiagou Formation deposits of the Changma locality in northwestern Gansu Province, China. Samples were taken from the femora of: three specimens of <em>Avimaia schweitzerae</em> (IVPP V25371, IVPP V31956, and GSGM-04-CM-007), <em>Qiliania graffini</em> GSGM-04-CM-006, and <em>Novavis pubisculata</em> IVPP V31957. The objective of this study is to describe intrageneric variation (in <em>Avimaia</em>), and intertaxonomic variation among enantiornithine birds coexisting in an ecosystem. All five specimens have a femoral cortex composed mainly of parallel fibered bone with relatively low vascularity. All three <em>Avimaia</em> specimens have 2–3 vascular canals, and asymmetrical growth marks, indicating cortical drift. In <em>Qiliania</em> there are eight longitudinal vascular canals, five of which are concentrated in one region of the cortex. Although the gross anatomy of the skeleton and fusion of compound elements indicates morphological maturity, neither growth marks, an outer circumferential layer (OCL), nor an inner circumferential layer (ICL) are present. The femur of <em>Novavis</em> has some regions of a woven parallel complex and a higher level of vascularity relative to the other specimens (14 longitudinal channels present). Although this specimen is morphologically immature based on gross anatomy, the femur has a well-developed OCL and ICL. These results emphasize the enantiornithine offset between morphological maturity and osteohistological maturity. Development of the OCL appears to be decoupled from morphological maturity, in some cases forming before the skeleton has fully fused, and in others well after. The specimens are similar in size but vary considerably in the number of growth marks present, from none to two. This suggests either developmental plasticity and diverse growth strategies and, complicates attempts to interpret relative age and growth stage in enantiornithines.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55116,"journal":{"name":"Geobios","volume":"90 ","pages":"Pages 5-16"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143927438","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GeobiosPub Date : 2025-03-05DOI: 10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.006
Javier Castro-Terol , Alejandro Pérez-Ramos , Jingmai K. O’Connor , José Luis Sanz , Francisco J. Serrano
{"title":"Micro-CT reconstruction reveals new information about the phylogenetic position and locomotion of the Early Cretaceous bird Iberomesornis romerali","authors":"Javier Castro-Terol , Alejandro Pérez-Ramos , Jingmai K. O’Connor , José Luis Sanz , Francisco J. Serrano","doi":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The enantiornithine <em>Iberomesornis romerali</em> from the Lower Cretaceous site of Las Hoyas (Spain) was originally described more than 35 years ago. As one of the first known articulated partial skeletons of this clade, <em>I. romerali</em> has been critical to our understanding of early avian systematics. Due to its preservation as a largely two-dimensional slab specimen, previous anatomical descriptions were unable to fully capture its anatomy. Here, we present new anatomical data based on micro-computed tomography of the holotype. We reconstruct five previously poorly known osteological elements, i.e., cervical vertebrae, pygostyle, coracoid, furcula, and humerus. Re-evaluation of these elements resulted in revised scorings for 15 morphological characters commonly used for cladistic analysis of Aves. The results of the modified character matrix support <em>Iberomesornis</em> in a derived position within Enantiornithes, close to the Longipterygidae. In addition, new findings in the coracoid and humerus reveal well-developed muscles for the elevation (i.e., supracoracoideus) and flexion–extension (extensor carpi radiale) of the wing. The new evidences, together with the typical enantiornithine furcula and the small size of the holotype, suggest that <em>I. romerali</em> was capable of flapping flight.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55116,"journal":{"name":"Geobios","volume":"90 ","pages":"Pages 17-30"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143927440","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GeobiosPub Date : 2025-03-05DOI: 10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.004
Mario Marqueta , Carmen Núñez-Lahuerta , Rosa Huguet , Josep Maria Vergès
{"title":"The end of the Pleistocene in south-western Europe: The avian assemblages from Heinrich event 3 to the Last Glacial Maximum in the Prades mountains (north-eastern Iberian Peninsula)","authors":"Mario Marqueta , Carmen Núñez-Lahuerta , Rosa Huguet , Josep Maria Vergès","doi":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The study of bird assemblages recovered from archaeological sites provides palaeoclimatic and environmental information, as well as data on the formation processes assemblages and the agents that have acted upon them. In this paper, we present the results of palaeontological and taphonomic analysis of seven avian assemblages recovered from two sites located in the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula: Galls Carboners (GC; 31,380–31,170 cal. BP) and Cudó (CU; CU107 31,245–24,404 cal. BP and CU105 15,585–10,199 cal. BP). GC has yielded four different assemblages (GC105, GC106, GC107, GC108) corresponding to the Heinrich event 3, with only three different taxa, dominated by the presence of Columba. Most of these remains belong to immature individuals. At CU, we studied two assemblages (CU107–CU105) corresponding to Heinrich 3, Heinrich 2 and the Last Glacial Maximum with a similar taxonomic diversity to GC. Assemblage CU105 exhibits the greatest diversity, and small Passeriformes are the most abundant taxa recorded. Of particular interest is the presence of cf. <em>Pinicola enucleator</em> in CU107, today absent in the area and present in boreal areas. Taphonomic results suggest that the origin of accumulations for both sites (GC and CU) was natural death. In addition, different agents modified these accumulations: small carnivorous mammals and nocturnal raptors affected GC’s assemblages, while nocturnal and diurnal raptors would have been the main predators of the birds documented at the CU site. Despite the differences between the accumulations, Heinrich 3 assemblages from GC and CU show a similar low degree of diversity, dominated by rock-dwelling taxa. This may be related to the harsh environment of the area during Heinrich event 3, and not to a taphonomic bias. The more diverse assemblage of CU105 points to an ecosystem recovery after the LGM.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55116,"journal":{"name":"Geobios","volume":"90 ","pages":"Pages 59-76"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143928087","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GeobiosPub Date : 2025-03-05DOI: 10.1016/j.geobios.2024.08.021
Vanesa L. De Pietri , R. Paul Scofield , Suzanne J. Hand , Mike Archer , Alan J.D. Tennyson , Trevor H. Worthy
{"title":"Early Miocene gull-like birds (Charadriiformes: Laridae) from New Zealand","authors":"Vanesa L. De Pietri , R. Paul Scofield , Suzanne J. Hand , Mike Archer , Alan J.D. Tennyson , Trevor H. Worthy","doi":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.08.021","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.08.021","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The shorebird family Laridae encompasses gulls, terns, skimmers, and noddies, which today primarily inhabit near-shore marine environments worldwide. Several species of larids of uncertain phylogenetic position within the group have been described from the late Oligocene-Early Miocene of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy, France, but despite this diversity, their global pre-Pliocene fossil record remains poor, especially in the Southern Hemisphere. Here we describe two new species of Laridae from the lacustrine deposits of St Bathans in Central Otago, New Zealand: <em>Australarus bakeri</em> nov. gen., nov. sp., one of the smallest larids known to date, and the medium-sized <em>Miolarus rectirostrum</em> nov. gen., nov. sp. The new species are very distinct from the Oligo-Miocene European taxa, and, at least for <em>A. bakeri</em>, the presence of immature bones indicates local breeding. <em>Australarus bakeri</em>’s distinctiveness and presence of seemingly plesiomorphic features, especially of the humerus and some referred elements may support a phylogenetic position outside crown-group Laridae. The intra-familial relationships of <em>M. rectirostrum</em> remain unclear due to the fragmentary nature of the specimens, despite a resemblance of the maxillary rostrum to some species of gulls. Both new species underscore the diversity and importance of the shorebirds so far described from the Early Miocene St Bathans Fauna.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55116,"journal":{"name":"Geobios","volume":"90 ","pages":"Pages 45-57"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143927441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GeobiosPub Date : 2025-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.001
Dumitru-Daniel Badea , Bogdan-Gabriel Răţoi , Vicente D. Crespo , Mihai Brânzilă
{"title":"The small mammal assemblage from the Late Miocene of Dolhești-1 (Moldavian Platform - Romania)","authors":"Dumitru-Daniel Badea , Bogdan-Gabriel Răţoi , Vicente D. Crespo , Mihai Brânzilă","doi":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Dolhești-1 is located 50 km south of Iași town (Iași County), in the northeast part of Romania. The sedimentary deposits exposed at Dolhești-1 belong to the last megacycle of the Moldavian Platform. Approximately one ton of sediment was screen-washed to collect the fossils using stable sieves. The most essential fossil elements identified in the locality were teeth of small mammals. More than 30 teeth were identified belonging to nine taxa: <em>Hansdebruijnia erksinae</em>, <em>Neocricetodon progressus</em>, <em>Vasseuromys pannonicus</em>, <em>Myomimus dehmi</em>, <em>Hylopetes</em> aff. <em>hoeckarum</em>, Sciuridae indet., <em>Ochotona eximia</em>, <em>Schizogalerix</em> cf. <em>sarmaticum</em>, and <em>Crusafontina</em> cf. <em>kormosi</em>, the rodents being the most diverse group. Based on the presence of <em>Vasseuromys pannonicus</em>, the age of the small mammal assemblage is interpreted as early Turolian (MN 11, Late Miocene). The genera <em>Vasseuromys</em>, <em>Hylopetes</em>, and <em>Hansdebruijnia</em> are reported for the first time in the Late Miocene of eastern Romania. This small mammal assemblage identified from Dolhești-1 represents the first early Turolian microvertebrate findings from the Late Miocene of Romania. The diversity of this faunal association represents an advantage for the interpretation of the paleoenvironment. Furthermore, the discovery of these taxa constitutes an important contribution to the study of small mammals from the Late Miocene of the Eastern Carpathians Foreland, adding new data about Turolian localities in Eastern Europe.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55116,"journal":{"name":"Geobios","volume":"88 ","pages":"Pages 5-14"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143387135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GeobiosPub Date : 2025-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.geobios.2024.02.008
Clara Mielgo , José Yravedra Sainz de los Terreros , David Álvarez-Alonso , María de Andrés-Herrero , Aitor Hevia-Carrillo
{"title":"Unraveling the interplay between humans and carnivores in El Olivo Cave during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic period (Llanera, Asturias, Spain)","authors":"Clara Mielgo , José Yravedra Sainz de los Terreros , David Álvarez-Alonso , María de Andrés-Herrero , Aitor Hevia-Carrillo","doi":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.02.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.02.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>El Olivo Cave (Llanera, Asturias, Spain) is a small karst cave within the Aboño River watershed. It holds a significant archaeological and paleontological record dating from the Middle and late Upper Paleolithic, featuring several lithic artifacts and faunal remains in each archaeological level. The study of the faunal remains reveals a high representation of ungulates, with <em>Cervus elaphus</em> and <em>Equus ferus</em> being the main ones. Carnivores are also represented by diverse species such as <em>Vulpes vulpes</em> and <em>Canis lupus</em>, among others. The taphonomic analysis evidenced the presence of human activity, accompanied by a significant incidence of tooth marks across all stratigraphic units and water-related processes in the lower part of the sequence. During this temporal range, there were faunal accumulations of anthropogenic origin altered by the action of other agents, especially carnivores. A diverse array of carnivore used the same space and taking advanced of the anthropogenic residues as scavengers. Moreover, we suggest a commensal synanthropic behavior exhibited by foxes. Consequently, El Olivo Cave is an illustrative case to explore the carnivore action in levels with human presence, something unusual at the late Upper Paleolithic sites in Northern Iberia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55116,"journal":{"name":"Geobios","volume":"88 ","pages":"Pages 175-185"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141842003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GeobiosPub Date : 2025-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.geobios.2024.08.010
Eliana P. Coturel
{"title":"The Carboniferous Gondwanan lycophyte Bumbudendron, revisited","authors":"Eliana P. Coturel","doi":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.08.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geobios.2024.08.010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The type material of <em>Bumbudendron</em> is reviewed in the light of current knowledge about fossil lycophytes. The bark is characterized having cushions with an infrafoliar bladder and a ligule. The variation in leaf bases and leaf scars and their presence may not only depend on the plant’s age or position on the stem, but also the plant’s preservation. The diagnosis of the genus is emended to include the presence of a ligule and a ligule pit in sterile and fertile leaves, the presence or absence of a preserved leaf scar, and variations in size and shape of the cushions resulting from preservation. <em>Bumbudendron nitidum</em> is here regarded as a synonym of <em>B</em>. <em>millanii</em>, the latter name having priority. In this concept, genus <em>Bumbudendron</em> comprises five species: <em>B. paganzianum</em> and <em>B</em>. <em>millanii</em> (Carboniferous of Argentina and Brazil), <em>B. versiforme</em> (Carboniferous and Lower Permian of Argentina and Uruguay), <em>B. patagonicum</em> (Permian of Argentina), and <em>B. peruvianum</em> (Lower Carboniferous of Peru). A review of the species of lycophytes from India, Niger, Ghana, and Egypt is suggested to determine whether they are assignable to <em>Bumbudendron</em>, and thus to define the geographic range of this genus.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55116,"journal":{"name":"Geobios","volume":"88 ","pages":"Pages 61-69"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143387138","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}