PalaeontologyPub Date : 2022-11-01DOI: 10.1111/pala.12626
D. Mukherjee, S. Ray
{"title":"Pachyosteosclerosis, rhamphotheca and enhanced sensory capabilities of the premaxillae of Hyperodapedon (Archosauromorpha, Rhynchosauria): implications for foraging at the sediment–water interface","authors":"D. Mukherjee, S. Ray","doi":"10.1111/pala.12626","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12626","url":null,"abstract":"The external morphology and microanatomy of 32 partial and complete Hyperodapedon premaxillae was examined to assess their functional attributes. This revealed morphological correlates for innervation of Hyperodapedon premaxillae in the form of posteriorly opening enlarged neurovascular foramina associated with several grooves, and a prominent neurovascular sulcus. Scanning electron microscopy shows numerous small, circular foramina in clusters along the lateroventral surface towards the anterior tip and along the ventral edge, often in a preferred orientation. These are found associated with high rugosity along the elongated anterolateral depression, and were related to nutrient supply and/or part of the neurovascular system. Selected premaxillae show extremely high bone compactness indices (especially at the anterior end) suggesting specialized osteosclerotic conditions, and dense and compact bone microstructure with almost no clear transition between the outer compact cortex and inner core. With ontogeny, the premaxillae became lateromedially thickened by deposition of lamellar zonal bone, and highly vascularized and dense from intense Haversian remodelling, suggesting pachyosteosclerosis of the premaxillae. Other characteristic features include profuse open vascular channels or a frayed margin at the anteroventral tip, and dense bundles of long and wavy extrinsic fibres. These features, along with high bone compactness, decrease posteriorly towards the naris. It is proposed that the Hyperodapedon premaxillae were covered by keratinized epithelium or rhamphotheca at the anterior end, and had heightened sensory capabilities that aided foraging for mussels and other invertebrates in soft sediments under shallow water. Such enhanced sensory capability is reported for the first time in an early‐diverging archosauromorph.","PeriodicalId":56272,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49305936","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PalaeontologyPub Date : 2022-11-01DOI: 10.1111/pala.12627
Candela Blanco‐Moreno, H. Martín‐Abad, Á. Buscalioni
{"title":"Quantitative plant taphonomy: the cosmopolitan Mesozoic fern Weichselia reticulata as a case study","authors":"Candela Blanco‐Moreno, H. Martín‐Abad, Á. Buscalioni","doi":"10.1111/pala.12627","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12627","url":null,"abstract":"A quantitative approach to plant taphonomy focusing on preservation type and fragment size is tested by comparing 3338 Weichselia reticulata fragments from 25 Lower Cretaceous localities of different ages and depositional environments. Moreover, palaeobiological insights are also obtained from the taphonomic analyses. In the case of the specimens of Weichselia reticulata included in this work, charred remains are the most frequent preservation type, and are the smallest and most homogeneous in size, probably due to the fragmentation of the fronds while burning and to the fact that burnt fragments are more fragile and break easily during the initial abrasion and attrition produced by transport. The size of charred fragments varies depending on the depositional environment, suggesting that biostratinomic processes, and not fire temperature, are the main cause for size differences, and providing valuable insight into the distance the remains might have travelled from production to final deposition. The taphonomic analysis suggests that Weichselia reticulata is allochthonous in all the localities analysed, and that its habitat would have been prone to fire and not far from freshwater systems. This case study shows promising results that can be implemented on different plant groups and chronostratigraphic ages, allowing for the proposal of a taphonomic model.","PeriodicalId":56272,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49407277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PalaeontologyPub Date : 2022-11-01DOI: 10.1111/pala.12630
M. Fabbri, Bhart‐Anjan S. Bhullar
{"title":"The endocast of Euparkeria sheds light on the ancestral archosaur nervous system","authors":"M. Fabbri, Bhart‐Anjan S. Bhullar","doi":"10.1111/pala.12630","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12630","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding the evolution of the tetrapod brain is essential to trace the history of ecomorphological diversification of modern clades. While previous studies focused on the morphological transformation of the nervous system along the dinosaur–bird transition, little is known about the brain anatomy of archosauriformes and early archosaurs. Here, we describe the endocast of Euparkeria capensis, a small bodied, terrestrial archosauriform closely related to Archosauria, with the goal of resolving the current uncertainties surrounding the ancestral condition of the archosaurian nervous system. The endocast of Euparkeria is sigmoidal, with large olfactory bulbs, an expanded cerebral hemisphere and an elongated flocculus. We suggest that this pivotal taxon was an active predator with a remarkable olfactory acuity. Overall, the endocast of Euparkeria resembles the ones observed in phytosaurs, crocodilians and early dinosaurs, implying that modern crocodilians retain an archosaurian plesiomorphic brain morphology.","PeriodicalId":56272,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45625745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PalaeontologyPub Date : 2022-09-01DOI: 10.1111/pala.12624
Xilin Zhang, Yu Liu, R. O'Flynn, Michel Schmidt, R. Melzer, X. Hou, Huijuan Mai, Jin Guo, Mengxiao Yu, J. Ortega‐Hernández
{"title":"Ventral organization of Jianfengia multisegmentalis Hou, and its implications for the head segmentation of megacheirans","authors":"Xilin Zhang, Yu Liu, R. O'Flynn, Michel Schmidt, R. Melzer, X. Hou, Huijuan Mai, Jin Guo, Mengxiao Yu, J. Ortega‐Hernández","doi":"10.1111/pala.12624","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12624","url":null,"abstract":"Megacheirans, or great‐appendage euarthropods, have featured prominently in discussions regarding the early evolution of the head region in total‐group Euarthropoda. However, several aspects of the ventral morphology of most representatives remain incompletely known given the loss of data associated with fossil compression, coupled with the rarity of some of these taxa. Here, we describe the ventral aspect of head organization of the jianfengiid megacheiran Jianfengia multisegmentalis using micro computed‐tomography, and explore its evolutionary significance. The head consists of a pair of stalked eyes, a pair of great appendages, and four pairs of biramous appendages, all covered by a dorsal head shield. The rostral portion of the head bears a median projection, which we interpret as an anterior sclerite akin to that observed in several other Cambrian euarthropods. The anterior sclerite in J. multisegmentalis articulates with robust stalks with rounded projections in a more adaxial position, and bears the compound eyes. Critically, the ventral side of the head of J. multisegmentalis features a prominent lobe‐shaped hypostome/labrum complex located immediately behind the great appendages, and between the first pair of biramous appendages. This situation is consistent with that observed in Leanchoilia illecebrosa and suggests a conserved, and possibly ancestral, pattern of a six‐segmented head (eyes, great appendages and four biramous limb appendages) with a hypostome/labrum complex for Megacheira. The existence of the hypostome/labrum complex in J. multisegmentalis falsifies the hypothesis that the anterior projections on the head of jianfengiids might be homologues of the euarthropod labrum.","PeriodicalId":56272,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45704367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PalaeontologyPub Date : 2022-09-01DOI: 10.1111/pala.12623
Valentin Bault, C. Crônier, C. Monnet
{"title":"Morphological disparity trends in Devonian trilobites from North Africa","authors":"Valentin Bault, C. Crônier, C. Monnet","doi":"10.1111/pala.12623","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12623","url":null,"abstract":"The Devonian was a time of drastic environmental change that shaped the morphology of trilobites. This study aims to investigate their morphological evolution and to show the influence of some abiotic and biotic factors (bathymetry, feeding habits and visual abilities) on their shape. A dataset was compiled to investigate the shape of three structures (cephalon as a whole, central part of the cephalon, and pygidium) of Devonian trilobites from North Africa, using a geometric morphometric approach. Based on empirical morphospaces, the morphological changes were quantified through the Devonian stages. The results reveal important variations in the morphological disparity of the glabella shape, the facial suture location, the pygidial length and the presence of spines. In the Lochkovian, morphological disparity was low, subsequently increased in the Pragian with numerous innovations, and reached a maximum in the Emsian. If the morphospace occupancy remained until the Eifelian, a severe loss of disparity occurred in the Givetian, a time known for important environmental changes. Disparity then remained low in the Late Devonian. The shapes inherited from the Silurian persisted throughout the Devonian whereas Pragian novelties were most affected by losses. These persistent shapes were more versatile for environmental adaptation, helping those trilobites to survive the environmental events. Similarly, the trilobite orders that survived Devonian events had a wide morphological spectrum and were better adapted to withstand environmental change.","PeriodicalId":56272,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46854013","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PalaeontologyPub Date : 2022-09-01DOI: 10.1111/pala.12622
P. Viglietti, Alexis Rojas, M. Rosvall, Brady Klimes, K. Angielczyk
{"title":"Network‐based biostratigraphy for the late Permian to mid‐Triassic Beaufort Group (Karoo Supergroup) in South Africa enhances biozone applicability and stratigraphic correlation","authors":"P. Viglietti, Alexis Rojas, M. Rosvall, Brady Klimes, K. Angielczyk","doi":"10.1111/pala.12622","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12622","url":null,"abstract":"The Permo‐Triassic vertebrate assemblage zones (AZs) of South Africa's Karoo Basin are a standard for local and global correlations. However, temporal, geographical and methodological limitations challenge the AZs reliability. We analyse a unique fossil dataset comprising 1408 occurrences of 115 species grouped into 19 stratigraphic bin intervals from the Cistecephalus, Daptocephalus, Lystrosaurus declivis and Cynognathus AZs. Using network science tools we compare six frameworks: Broom, Rubidge, Viglietti, Member, Formation, and one suggesting diachroneity of the Daptocephalus/Lystrosaurus AZ boundary (Gastaldo). Our results demonstrate that historical frameworks (Broom, Rubidge) still identify the Karoo AZs. No scheme supports the Cistecephalus AZ, and it probably comprises two discrete communities. The Lystrosaurus declivis AZ is traced across all frameworks, despite many shared species with the underlying Daptocephalus AZ, suggesting that the extinction event across this interval is not a statistical artefact. A community shift at the upper Katberg to lower Burgersdorp formations may indicate a depositional hiatus which has important implications for regional correlations, and Mesozoic ecosystem evolution. The Gastaldo model still identifies a Lystrosaurus and Daptocephalus AZ community shift, does not significantly improve recent AZ models (Viglietti), and highlights important issues with some AZ studies. Localized bed‐scale lithostratigraphy (sandstone datums), and singleton fossils cannot be used to reject the patterns shown by hundreds of fossils, and regional chronostratigraphic markers of the Karoo foreland basin. Metre‐level occurrence data suggests that 20–50 m sampling intervals capture Karoo AZs, unifying the use of metre‐level placements of singleton fossils to delineate biozone boundaries and make regional correlations.","PeriodicalId":56272,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41466980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PalaeontologyPub Date : 2022-09-01DOI: 10.1111/pala.12625
K. Wolkenstein
{"title":"Fluorescent colour patterns in the basal pectinid Pleuronectites from the Middle Triassic of Central Europe: origin, fate and taxonomic implications of fluorescence","authors":"K. Wolkenstein","doi":"10.1111/pala.12625","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12625","url":null,"abstract":"UV light‐induced fluorescence is widely used as a key to reveal residual shell colour patterns of Neogene and Palaeogene molluscs. However, only few examples of fluorescent colour patterns are known from Mesozoic marine shells and little is known about the nature of fluorescence in fossils. Here, UV light‐induced fluorescence reveals previously unseen abundance and diversity in the colour patterns of the basal pectinid Pleuronectites laevigatus from the Middle Triassic Muschelkalk of Central Europe. In addition to known variations of radial bands, a multitude of zigzag and zigzag‐related patterns was found. The diversity of colour patterns is comparable to modern pectinids and is interpreted as colour pattern polymorphism. Raman spectra of the colour patterns indicated the preservation of residual organic pigments with aromatic moieties. The fluorescence properties of P. laevigatus and other basal pectinids from the Muschelkalk of Germany and France are described in detail, suggesting that colour pattern fluorescence is due to colourless diagenetic products of the pigments, not to the fossil pigments themselves. A remarkable feature of the colour patterns of P. laevigatus is the presence of different fluorescence colours. Because a gradual shift of the fluorescence colour from yellow to red with decreasing intensity to finally non‐fluorescent is observed, which correlates with the provenance of the specimens, the fluorescence properties are interpreted to reflect differences in diagenetic history. The results show that the fluorescence colour of fossil molluscs, especially of Mesozoic molluscs, may be affected by diagenesis and should only be used with caution for taxonomic purposes.","PeriodicalId":56272,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42926198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PalaeontologyPub Date : 2022-09-01DOI: 10.1111/pala.12621
Jana Gliwa, M. Wiedenbeck, Martin Schobben, Clemenz V. Ullmann, W. Kiessling, A. Ghaderi, U. Struck, D. Korn
{"title":"Gradual warming prior to the end‐Permian mass extinction","authors":"Jana Gliwa, M. Wiedenbeck, Martin Schobben, Clemenz V. Ullmann, W. Kiessling, A. Ghaderi, U. Struck, D. Korn","doi":"10.1111/pala.12621","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12621","url":null,"abstract":"The biggest known mass extinction in the history of animal life occurred at the Permian–Triassic boundary and has often been linked to global warming. Previous studies have suggested that a geologically rapid (<40 kyr) temperature increase of more than 10°C occurred simultaneously with the main extinction pulse. This hypothesis is challenged by geochemical and palaeontological data indicating profound environmental perturbations and a temperature rise prior to the main extinction. Using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), we measured oxygen isotope ratios from Changhsingian (late Permian) ostracods of north‐western Iran. Our data show that ambient seawater temperature began to rise at least 300 kyr prior to the main extinction event. Gradual warming by approximately 12°C was probably responsible for initial environmental degradation that eventually culminated in the global end‐Permian mass extinction.","PeriodicalId":56272,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49452683","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PalaeontologyPub Date : 2022-07-01DOI: 10.1111/pala.12620
Luoyang Li, C. Skovsted, T. Topper
{"title":"Deep origin of the crossed‐lamellar microstructure in early Cambrian molluscs","authors":"Luoyang Li, C. Skovsted, T. Topper","doi":"10.1111/pala.12620","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12620","url":null,"abstract":"Aragonitic crossed‐lamellar (CL) is one of the most commonly formed and extensively studied molluscan shell microstructures, yet its origin and early evolution within the Mollusca remains poorly understood. Here, a primitive CL microstructure from one of the oldest gastropods, Pelagiella madianensis, and the problematic hyolith Cupitheca sp. of the Cambrian Series 2 Xinji Formation on the North China Platform, was investigated. In P. madianensis, detailed characterization has revealed a typical four‐ordered hierarchical organization of aragonitic crystallites, and a thick layer of organic membranes surrounding its first‐order lamellae. A transitional fibrous microstructure was observed between the outer CL and inner foliated aragonite structural layers. In Cupitheca sp., only the first and second‐order lamellae were visible due to preservation limitations, and the first‐order lamellae were extremely irregular in shape and size, which is consistent with modern representatives. This study demonstrates that the capability to construct highly‐mineralized intricate shells was acquired in early Cambrian stem‐group gastropods. The CL microstructure first emerged in the early Cambrian and as a basal synapomorphic trait in total‐group molluscs. Moreover, presence of the CL microstructure in problematic lophotrochozoans (i.e. hyoliths) is confirmed. This study contributes to a more complete picture of the evolutionary origin and architectural diversity of biomineralized mollusc shells during the Cambrian explosion, and strengthens the phylogenetic links between hyoliths and molluscs.","PeriodicalId":56272,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47257202","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PalaeontologyPub Date : 2022-07-01DOI: 10.1111/pala.12614
I. Cerda, D. Pol, A. Otero, A. Chinsamy
{"title":"Palaeobiology of the early sauropodomorph Mussaurus patagonicus inferred from its long bone histology","authors":"I. Cerda, D. Pol, A. Otero, A. Chinsamy","doi":"10.1111/pala.12614","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12614","url":null,"abstract":"We present a detailed histological study of long bones from an ontogenetic series of Mussaurus patagonicus, an early sauropodomorph from the Lower Jurassic of Argentina. Twenty long bones, including humeri, femora and fibulae, obtained from 13 individuals of different body sizes were sampled for histological analysis. In general terms, the cortical bone is formed by a well vascularized fibrolamellar and parallel fibred bone. Except for the smaller individuals, cyclical growth marks (CGMs) are well recorded in all the specimens but their number and relative position is highly variable. Mussaurus exhibits marked variation regarding relative growth rate, with some individuals growing much faster than others. Such variation affects the size of the adult individuals, which results in a poor correlation between the body size and the age/ontogenetic stage for this taxon. These discrepancies may be related to sexual dimorphism and/or developmental plasticity. Intraspecific variation is also recorded with regard to the growth strategies, which can vary from cyclical, as in other early sauropodomorphs, to continuous, as reported in sauropods. Sexual maturity appears to have been reached between 23 and 31 years, which is delayed in comparison to other early sauropodomorphs but more comparable with derived sauropods. The attainment of somatic maturity appears to have been reached at about 14 years after onset of sexual maturity. Mussaurus is a sauropodiform, phylogenetically closer to sauropods than most other Early Jurassic sauropodomorphs, and therefore provides critical information for understanding palaeobiological aspects of the origin of sauropods and the onset of gigantism in this lineage.","PeriodicalId":56272,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43784253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}