Vertebrate Paleobiology

@article{https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.25586,

title = {A review of the non-semiaquatic adaptations of extinct crocodylomorphs throughout their fossil record},

author = {Yohan Pochat-Cottilloux},

url = {https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ar.25586},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.25586},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-11-25},

journal = {The Anatomical Record},

volume = {n/a},

number = {n/a},

abstract = {Abstract Crocodylomorphs constitute a clade of archosaurs that have thrived since the Mesozoic until today and have survived numerous major biological crises. Contrary to historic belief, their semiaquatic extant representatives (crocodylians) are not living fossils, and, during their evolutionary history, crocodylomorphs have evolved to live in a variety of environments. This review aims to summarize the non-semiaquatic adaptations (i.e., either terrestrial or fully aquatic) of different groups from different periods, highlighting how exactly those different lifestyles are inferred for those animals, with regard to their geographic and temporal distribution and phylogenetic relationships. The ancestral condition for Crocodylomorpha seems to have been a terrestrial lifestyle, linked with several morphological adaptations such as an altirostral skull, long limbs allowing a fully erect posture and a specialized dentition for diets based on land. However, some members of this clade, such as thalattosuchians and dyrosaurids display adaptations for an opposite, aquatic lifestyle, interestingly inferred from the same type of morphological observations. Finally, new techniques for inferring the paleobiology of those extinct animals have been put forward in the last decade, appearing as a complementary approach to traditional morphological descriptions and comparisons. Such is the case of paleoneuroanatomical (CT scan data), histological, and geochemical studies.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Ara2024,

title = {New Euungulate Fossils from the Middle Siwalik Subgroup of the Potwar Plateau of Northern Pakistan},

author = {Chaman Ara and Riffat Yasin and Hafiz M. Ishaq and Shakila Naz and Tayyaba Sultana and Khizar Samiullah and Fahad A. Al‐Misned and Kifayait Ullah and Holly E. Anderson and Sergi López‐Torres and Asghar Abbas},

doi = {10.1002/gj.5081},

issn = {1099-1034},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-11-14},

urldate = {2024-11-14},

journal = {Geological Journal},

publisher = {Wiley},

abstract = {<jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title><jats:p>This article provides a detailed taxonomic study of mammalian fossil fauna from five localities situated within the Middle Siwalik subgroup including the Nagri and Dhok Pathan formations in Punjab, Pakistan. Twenty‐three euungulate specimens comprised of isolated teeth, and maxillary and mandibular fragments, are described. This collection includes the bovid, <jats:italic>Elachistoceras</jats:italic>; a very rare faunal element in the Siwaliks of Pakistan, as well as <jats:italic>Elachistoceras khauristanensis</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Pachyportax latidens</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Giraffa punjabiensis</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Bramatherium grande</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Merycopotamus dissimilis</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Dorcatherium minus</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Dorcatherium majus</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Hippopotamodon sivalense</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Sivalhippus theobaldi</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Sivalhippus nagriensis</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Brachypotherium perimense</jats:italic> These fossil remains add important new insights into the taxonomy and diversity of Late Miocene mammal faunas of the Middle Siwaliks. The data is important for understanding the biogeographical and palaeoenvironmental history of the region. The characteristics of the fossils described in this study further support the currently hypothesised presence of a massive open land environment with variable wet and dry seasons alike to that of the current climate in Eurasia and Africa. The variable habitat niches of these co‐existing fauna also give further support to the supposition that there was a much more mixed array of palaeoenvironments ranging from a prevalence of woodland to expansive savannah territory during the deposition of Nagri and Dhok Pathan formations.</jats:p>},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Awdankiewicz2024,

title = {Timing of post-orogenic silicic volcanism in the eastern part of the European Variscides: constraints from SHRIMP U–Pb zircon study of the Permo-Carboniferous Góry Suche Rhyolitic Tuffs (the Intra-Sudetic Basin)},

author = {Marek Awdankiewicz and Magdalena Pańczyk and Izabela Ploch and Paweł Raczyński and Honorata Awdankiewicz and Anna Górecka-Nowak and Wojciech Pawlak and Tadeusz Peryt},

doi = {10.1007/s00531-024-02474-y},

issn = {1437-3262},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-11-01},

urldate = {2024-11-01},

journal = {International Journal of Earth Sciences},

publisher = {Springer Science and Business Media LLC},

abstract = {<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The Góry Suche Rhyolitic Tuffs in the Intra-Sudetic Basin, in the eastern part of the Variscan Belt of Europe, represent a voluminous (ca. 100 km<jats:sup>3</jats:sup>), possibly caldera-related, ignimbrite-dominated complex and the Łomnica Rhyolites are associated, post-ignimbrite sills. Zircon separates from nine samples were dated using the U–Pb SHRIMP method. Well-defined concordia ages were determined in four ignimbrite samples (300.5 ± 2.0, 300.5 ± 1.4, 298.0 ± 1.6 and 297.2 ± 0.9 Ma) and in two rhyolite samples (298.4 ± 1.5 and 292.6 ± 1.9 Ma). Clustering of the ignimbrite sample ages between 300.5 ± 2.0 and 297.2 ± 0.9 Ma and geological evidence indicate the eruption and deposition of the tuffs close to the Carboniferous/Permian boundary, in a geologically rapid event at approximately 299 Ma. Zircon assemblages in three tuff specimens are strongly dominated by xenocrysts of various Palaeozoic and Precambrian ages that were incorporated during the eruption through the basin fill. The emplacement of the tuffs was followed (and partly overlapped?) by the emplacement of the Łomnica Rhyolites as sills in two episodes in the early Permian. The Góry Suche Rhyolitic Tuffs may be a few million years older than assumed so far, and this, as well as rather imprecise biostratigraphic constraints from the host sedimentary rocks, suggest a need for revision of the existing lithostratigraphic and evolutionary schemes for the Permo-Carboniferous of the Intra-Sudetic Basin. The studied tuffs and rhyolites together with coeval granitic plutons in vicinity can be linked to the onset of post-Carboniferous lithospheric thinning in Central Europe.</jats:p>

              <jats:p><jats:bold>Graphical abstract</jats:bold></jats:p>},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Agiadi2024c,

title = {A revised marine fossil record of the Mediterranean before and after the Messinian salinity crisis},

author = {Konstantina Agiadi and Niklas Hohmann and Elsa Gliozzi and Danae Thivaiou and Francesca R. Bosellini and Marco Taviani and Giovanni Bianucci and Alberto Collareta and Laurent Londeix and Costanza Faranda and Francesca Bulian and Efterpi Koskeridou and Francesca Lozar and Alan Maria Mancini and Stefano Dominici and Pierre Moissette and Ildefonso Bajo Campos and Enrico Borghi and George Iliopoulos and Assimina Antonarakou and George Kontakiotis and Evangelia Besiou and Stergios D. Zarkogiannis and Mathias Harzhauser and Francisco Javier Sierro and Angelo Camerlenghi and Daniel García-Castellanos},

doi = {10.5194/essd-16-4767-2024},

issn = {1866-3516},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-10-22},

urldate = {2024-00-00},

journal = {Earth System Science Data},

volume = {16},

number = {10},

pages = {4767--4775},

publisher = {Copernicus GmbH},

abstract = {<jats:p>Abstract. The Messinian salinity crisis and its precursor events have been the greatest environmental perturbation of the Mediterranean Sea to date, offering an opportunity to study the response of marine ecosystems to extreme hydrological change and a large-scale biological invasion. The restriction of the marine connection between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean resulted in stratification of the water column and high-amplitude variations in seawater temperature and salinity already from the early Messinian. Here, we present a unified and revised marine fossil record of the Mediterranean (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13358435, Agiadi et al., 2024) that covers the Tortonian stage, the pre-evaporitic Messinian stage, and the Zanclean stage and encompasses 23 032 occurrences of calcareous nannoplankton, dinoflagellates, foraminifera, corals, ostracods, bryozoans, echinoids, mollusks, fishes, and marine mammals. This record adheres to the FAIR principles, is updated in terms of taxonomy, and follows the currently accepted stratigraphic framework. Based on this record, knowledge gaps are identified, which are due to spatiotemporal inconsistencies in sampling effort and the distribution of sedimentary facies, as well as the inherent differences in the preservation potential between the groups. Additionally, sampling bias in old records may have distorted the record in favor of larger, more impressive taxa within groups. This record is now ready to be used to answer both geological and biological questions about the Mediterranean Sea and beyond and is amendable when new fossil data are brought to light.

                    </jats:p>},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Raza2024,

title = {New sivatheriine giraffid (Ruminantia, Mammalia) craniodental material from the Siwaliks of Pakistan},

author = {Tehreem Raza and Riffat Yasin and Sergi López-Torres and Natalie M. Warburton and Khizar Samiullah and Abdul Ghaffar and Muhammad N. Khan and Chaman Ara and Eisha Muzaffar},

doi = {10.1080/02724634.2024.2376241},

issn = {1937-2809},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-10-01},

urldate = {2024-10-01},

journal = {Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology},

volume = {44},

issue = {1},

pages = {e2376241},

publisher = {Informa UK Limited},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Witasik2024,

title = {Modified laminar bone did not stop sauropods from achieving large body sizes},

author = {Marceli Witasik and Justyna Słowiak and Tomasz Szczygielski},

doi = {10.1080/02724634.2024.2396816},

issn = {1937-2809},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-09-30},

urldate = {2024-09-30},

journal = {Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology},

publisher = {Informa UK Limited},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Agiadi2024b,

title = {Late Miocene transformation of Mediterranean Sea biodiversity},

author = {Konstantina Agiadi and Niklas Hohmann and Elsa Gliozzi and Danae Thivaiou and Francesca R. Bosellini and Marco Taviani and Giovanni Bianucci and Alberto Collareta and Laurent Londeix and Costanza Faranda and Francesca Bulian and Efterpi Koskeridou and Francesca Lozar and Alan Maria Mancini and Stefano Dominici and Pierre Moissette and Ildefonso Bajo Campos and Enrico Borghi and George Iliopoulos and Assimina Antonarakou and George Kontakiotis and Evangelia Besiou and Stergios D. Zarkogiannis and Mathias Harzhauser and Francisco Javier Sierro and Marta Coll and Iuliana Vasiliev and Angelo Camerlenghi and Daniel García-Castellanos},

doi = {10.1126/sciadv.adp1134},

issn = {2375-2548},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-09-25},

urldate = {2024-09-25},

journal = {Science Advances},

volume = {10},

number = {39},

pages = {eadp1134},

publisher = {American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)},

abstract = {<jats:p>Understanding deep-time marine biodiversity change under the combined effects of climate and connectivity changes is fundamental for predicting the impacts of modern climate change in semi-enclosed seas. We quantify the Late Miocene–Early Pliocene [11.63 to 3.6 million years (Ma)] taxonomic diversity of the Mediterranean Sea for calcareous nannoplankton, dinocysts, foraminifera, ostracods, corals, molluscs, bryozoans, echinoids, fishes, and marine mammals. During this time, marine biota was affected by global climate cooling and the restriction of the Mediterranean’s connection to the Atlantic Ocean that peaked with the Messinian salinity crisis. Although the net change in species richness from the Tortonian to the Zanclean varies by group, species turnover is greater than 30% in all cases, reflecting a high degree of reorganization of the marine ecosystem after the crisis. The results show a clear perturbation already in the pre-evaporitic Messinian (7.25 to 5.97 Ma), with patterns differing among groups and subbasins.</jats:p>},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Uhlik2024,

title = {Embryogeny of            \textit{Pleuroxus aduncus}            (Jurine, 1820) and            \textit{Chydorus sphaericus}            S. Lato (Müller, 1776) indicate on conservative instars development among family Chydoridae (Crustacea, Cladocera, Anomopoda)},

author = {Marcin E. Uhlik},

doi = {10.1080/24750263.2024.2393834},

issn = {2475-0263},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-09-09},

urldate = {2024-07-02},

journal = {The European Zoological Journal},

volume = {91},

number = {2},

pages = {1035--1051},

publisher = {Informa UK Limited},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Agiadi2024,

title = {The marine biodiversity impact of the Late Miocene Mediterranean salinity crisis},

author = {Konstantina Agiadi and Niklas Hohmann and Elsa Gliozzi and Danae Thivaiou and Francesca R. Bosellini and Marco Taviani and Giovanni Bianucci and Alberto Collareta and Laurent Londeix and Costanza Faranda and Francesca Bulian and Efterpi Koskeridou and Francesca Lozar and Alan Maria Mancini and Stefano Dominici and Pierre Moissette and Ildefonso Bajo Campos and Enrico Borghi and George Iliopoulos and Assimina Antonarakou and George Kontakiotis and Evangelia Besiou and Stergios D. Zarkogiannis and Mathias Harzhauser and Francisco Javier Sierro and Marta Coll and Iuliana Vasiliev and Angelo Camerlenghi and Daniel García-Castellanos},

doi = {10.1126/science.adp3703},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-08-29},

urldate = {2024-08-29},

journal = {Science},

volume = {385},

number = {6712},

pages = {986--991},

publisher = {American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)},

abstract = {<jats:p>Massive salt accumulations, or salt giants, have formed in highly restricted marine basins throughout geological history, but their impact on biodiversity has been only patchily studied. The salt giant in the Mediterranean Sea formed as a result of the restriction of its gateway to the Atlantic during the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) 5.97 to 5.33 million years ago. Here, we quantify the biodiversity changes associated with the MSC based on a compilation of the Mediterranean fossil record. We conclude that 86 endemic species of the 2006 pre-MSC marine species survived the crisis, and that the present eastward-decreasing richness gradient in the Mediterranean was established after the MSC.</jats:p>},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Tsuboi2024,

title = {The Paradox of Predictability Provides a Bridge Between Micro- and Macroevolution},

author = {Masahito Tsuboi and Jacqueline Sztepanacz and Stephen De Lisle and Kjetil L Voje and Mark Grabowski and Melanie J Hopkins and Arthur Porto and Meghan Balk and Mikael Pontarp and Daniela Rossoni and Laura S Hildesheim and Quentin J-B Horta-Lacueva and Niklas Hohmann and Agnes Holstad and Moritz Lürig and Lisandro Milocco and Sofie Nilén and Arianna Passarotto and Erik I Svensson and Cristina Villegas and Erica Winslott and Lee Hsiang Liow and Gene Hunt and Alan C Love and David Houle},

doi = {10.1093/jeb/voae103},

issn = {1420-9101},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-08-29},

urldate = {2024-08-29},

journal = {Journal of Evolutionary Biology},

pages = {voae103},

publisher = {Oxford University Press (OUP)},

abstract = {<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>

               <jats:p>The relationship between the evolutionary dynamics observed in contemporary populations (microevolution) and evolution on timescales of millions of years (macroevolution) has been a topic of considerable debate. Historically, this debate centers on inconsistencies between microevolutionary processes and macroevolutionary patterns. Here, we characterize a striking exception: emerging evidence indicates that standing variation in contemporary populations and macroevolutionary rates of phenotypic divergence are often positively correlated. This apparent consistency between micro- and macroevolution is paradoxical because it contradicts our previous understanding of phenotypic evolution and is so far unexplained. Here, we explore the prospects for bridging evolutionary timescales through an examination of this “paradox of predictability.” We begin by explaining why the divergence-variance correlation is a paradox, followed by data analysis to show that the correlation is a general phenomenon across a broad range of temporal scales, from a few generations to tens of millions of years. Then we review complementary approaches from quantitative-genetics, comparative morphology, evo-devo, and paleontology to argue that they can help to address the paradox from the shared vantage point of recent work on evolvability. In conclusion, we recommend a methodological orientation that combines different kinds of short-term and long-term data using multiple analytical frameworks in an interdisciplinary research program. Such a program will increase our general understanding about how evolution works within and across timescales.</jats:p>},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Hohmann2024,

title = {Identification of the mode of evolution in incomplete carbonate successions},

author = {Niklas Hohmann and Joël R. Koelewijn and Peter Burgess and Emilia Jarochowska},

doi = {10.1186/s12862-024-02287-2},

issn = {2730-7182},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-08-23},

urldate = {2024-12-00},

journal = {BMC Ecology and Evolution},

volume = {24},

number = {113},

publisher = {Springer Science and Business Media LLC},

abstract = {<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec>

                <jats:title>Background</jats:title>

                <jats:p>The fossil record provides the unique opportunity to observe evolution over millions of years, but is known to be incomplete. While incompleteness varies spatially and is hard to estimate for empirical sections, computer simulations of geological processes can be used to examine the effects of the incompleteness <jats:italic>in silico</jats:italic>.</jats:p>

                <jats:p>We combine simulations of different modes of evolution (stasis, (un)biased random walks) with deposition of carbonate platforms strata to examine how well the mode of evolution can be recovered from fossil time series, and how test results vary between different positions in the carbonate platform and multiple stratigraphic architectures generated by different sea level curves.</jats:p>

              </jats:sec><jats:sec>

                <jats:title>Results</jats:title>

                <jats:p>Stratigraphic architecture and position along an onshore-offshore gradient has only a small influence on the mode of evolution recovered by statistical tests. For simulations of random walks, support for the correct mode decreases with time series length.</jats:p>

                <jats:p>Visual examination of trait evolution in lineages shows that rather than stratigraphic incompleteness, maximum hiatus duration determines how much fossil time series differ from the original evolutionary process. Gradual directional evolution is more susceptible to stratigraphic effects, turning it into punctuated evolution. In contrast, stasis remains unaffected.</jats:p>

              </jats:sec><jats:sec>

                <jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title>

                <jats:p>• Fossil time series favor the recognition of both stasis and complex, punctuated modes of evolution.</jats:p>

                <jats:p>• Not stratigraphic incompleteness, but the presence of rare, prolonged gaps has the largest effect on trait evolution. This suggests that incomplete sections with regular hiatus frequency and durations can potentially preserve evolutionary history without major biases. Understanding external controls on stratigraphic architectures such as sea level fluctuations is crucial for distinguishing between stratigraphic effects and genuine evolutionary process.</jats:p>

              </jats:sec>},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{DZIK2024,

title = {A variety of meroms and affinity of receptaculitids},

author = {Jerzy Dzik},

doi = {10.18261/let.57.2.7},

issn = {1502-3931},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-08-21},

urldate = {2024-06-20},

journal = {Lethaia},

volume = {57},

number = {2},

pages = {1-8},

publisher = {Scandinavian University Press / Universitetsforlaget AS},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{López-Torres2024,

title = {The allometry of brain size in Euarchontoglires: clade-specific patterns and their impact on encephalization quotients},

author = {Sergi López-Torres and Ornella C Bertrand and Łucja Fostowicz-Frelik and Madlen M Lang and Chris J Law and San Martin-Flores, Gabriela and Michael A Schillaci and Mary T Silcox},

editor = {Deyan Ge},

doi = {10.1093/jmammal/gyae084},

issn = {1545-1542},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-08-16},

urldate = {2024-08-16},

journal = {Journal of Mammalogy},

volume = {105},

issue = {6},

pages = {1430-1445},

publisher = {Oxford University Press (OUP)},

abstract = {The timing and nature of evolutionary shifts in the relative brain size of Primates have been extensively studied. Less is known, however, about the scaling of the brain-to-body size in their closest living relatives, i.e., among other members of Euarchontoglires (Dermoptera, Scandentia, Lagomorpha, Rodentia). Ordinary least squares (OLS), reduced major axis (RMA), and phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) regressions were fitted to the largest euarchontogliran data set of brain and body mass, comprising 715 species. Contrary to previous inferences, lagomorph brain sizes (PGLS slope = 0.465; OLS slope = 0.593) scale relative to body mass similarly to rodents (PGLS = 0.526; OLS = 0.638), and differently than primates (PGLS = 0.607; OLS = 0.794). There is a shift in the pattern of the scaling of the brain in Primates, with Strepsirrhini occupying an intermediate stage similar to Scandentia but different from Rodentia and Lagomorpha, while Haplorhini differ from all other groups in the OLS and RMA analyses. The unique brain–body scaling relationship of Primates among Euarchontoglires illustrates the need for clade-specific metrics for relative brain size (i.e., encephalization quotients; EQs) for more restricted taxonomic entities than Mammalia. We created clade-specific regular and phylogenetically adjusted EQ equations at superordinal, ordinal, and subordinal levels. When using fossils as test cases, our results show that generalized mammalian equations underestimate the encephalization of the stem lagomorph Megalagus turgidus in the context of lagomorphs, overestimate the encephalization of the stem primate Microsyops annectens and the early euprimate Necrolemur antiquus, but provide similar EQ values as our new strepsirrhine-specific EQ when applied to the early euprimate Adapis parisiensis.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Brady2024,

title = {The effects of ordered multistate morphological characters on phylogenetic analyses of eutherian mammals},

author = {Peggy L. Brady and Castellon Arteaga, Alejandro and Sergi López-Torres and Mark S. Springer},

url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10914-024-09727-2},

doi = {10.1007/s10914-024-09727-2},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-07-18},

urldate = {2024-07-18},

journal = {Journal of Mammalian Evolution},

volume = {31},

pages = {28},

publisher = {Springer Link},

abstract = {Multistate morphological characters are routinely used in phylogenetic analyses. Individual multistate characters may be treated as linearly ordered, partially ordered, or unordered. Each option implies a hypothesis of character evolution, and significant debate surrounds the appropriateness of ordering multistate characters. Several previous analyses support ordering multistate morphological characters when the character states form a morphocline. Here, we explore the effects of ordering a subset of characters in the largest morphological character matrix that is available for placental mammals. All multistate characters were assessed and were ordered only if the character states were meristic or hypothesized to form a morphocline. We then performed parsimony analyses, with and without molecular scaffolds, to examine the effects of ordering on placental mammal phylogeny. We also performed pseudoextinction analyses, which treated designated extant taxa as extinct by eliminating them from the molecular scaffold and scoring soft-tissue characters as missing, to determine if ordered or unordered characters would more accurately reconstruct the relationships of pseudoextinct placental orders. Character ordering affected the placement of a variety of taxa in non-scaffolded analyses, but the effects were less evident in scaffolded analyses. Nevertheless, one of the islands of most parsimonious trees with the ordered data set and a scaffold for extant taxa supported the inclusion of Leptictida, including the Late Cretaceous Gypsonictops, inside of crown Placentalia. Our analyses rarely supported the monophyly of Tamirtheria, the Late Cretaceous-Paleogene stem-based clade that is hypothesized to be the sister to Placentalia. Pseudoextinction analyses using ordered and unordered characters both reconstructed 12 of 19 pseudoextinct orders in positions that are incongruent with a well-supported molecular scaffold. These results suggest that the use of ordered multistate characters does not increase the proportion of well-supported molecular clades that are reconstructed with the largest available phenomic data set for placental mammals.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{PAWLAK2024,

title = {A new early Permian actinopterygian assemblage shows environmental controls  on the distribution of Paramblypterus (Intra-Sudetic Basin, Poland)},

author = {Wojciech Pawlak and Izabela Ploch and Stanislav Štamberg and Paweł Raczyński and Hubert Kiersnowski},

doi = {10.7306/gq.1741},

issn = {1641-7291},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-07-04},

urldate = {2024-07-04},

journal = {Geological  Quarterly},

volume = {68},

number = {2},

pages = {1-14},

publisher = {Polish Geological Institute - National Research Institute (PGI-NRI)},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Same-sex sexual behaviour among mammals is widely observed, yet seldomly reported: Evidence from an online expert survey},

author = {Karyn A. Anderson and Julie A. Teichroeb and Malcolm S. Ramsay and Iulia Bădescu and Sergi López-Torres and James K. Gibb},

url = {https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0304885},

doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0304885},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-06-20},

journal = {PLoS ONE},

volume = {19},

issue = {6},

pages = {e0304885},

abstract = {Same-sex sexual behaviour (SSSB) occurs in most animal clades, but published reports are largely concentrated in a few taxa. Thus, there remains a paucity of published reports for most mammalian species. We conducted a cross-sectional expert survey to better understand the underlying reasons for the lack of publications on this topic. Most respondents researched Primates (83.6%, N = 61), while the rest studied Carnivora (6.9%, N = 5), Rodentia (4.1%, N = 3), Artiodactyla (2.7%, N = 2), and Proboscidea (2.7%, N = 2). Most respondents (76.7%, N = 56) had observed SSSB in their study species, but only 48.2% (N = 27) collected data on SSSB, and few (18.5%, N = 5) had published papers on SSSB. Of the unique species identified as engaging in SSSB in the survey, 38.6% (N = 17) have no existing reports of SSSB to the knowledge of the authors. In both the survey questions and freeform responses, most respondents indicated that their lack of data collection or publication on SSSB was because the behaviours were rare, or because it was not a research priority of their lab. No respondents reported discomfort or sociopolitical concerns at their university or field site as a reason for why they did not collect data or publish on SSSB. Multiple logistic regressions were performed to assess whether taxa studied, education level, or identification within the LGBTQ+ community predicted observing, collecting data on, or publishing on SSSB, but none of these variables were significant predictors. These results provide preliminary evidence that SSSB occurs more frequently than what is available in the published record and suggest that this may be due to a publishing bias against anecdotal evidence.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Shirley2024,

title = {Increasing control over biomineralization in conodont evolution},

author = {Bryan Shirley and Isabella Leonhard and Duncan J. E. Murdock and John Repetski and Przemysław Świś and Michel Bestmann and Pat Trimby and Markus Ohl and Oliver Plümper and Helen E. King and Emilia Jarochowska},

url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-49526-0},

doi = {10.1038/s41467-024-49526-0},

issn = {2041-1723},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-06-20},

urldate = {2024-01-01},

journal = {Nature Communications 2024 15:1},

volume = {15},

issue = {1},

pages = {1-13},

publisher = {Nature Publishing Group},

abstract = {Vertebrates use the phosphate mineral apatite in their skeletons, which allowed them to develop tissues such as enamel, characterized by an outstanding combination of hardness and elasticity. It has been hypothesized that the evolution of the earliest vertebrate skeletal tissues, found in the teeth of the extinct group of conodonts, was driven by adaptation to dental function. We test this hypothesis quantitatively and demonstrate that the crystallographic order increased throughout the early evolution of conodont teeth in parallel with morphological adaptation to food processing. With the c-axes of apatite crystals oriented perpendicular to the functional feeding surfaces, the strongest resistance to uniaxial compressional stress is conferred along the long axes of denticles. Our results support increasing control over biomineralization in the first skeletonized vertebrates and allow us to test models of functional morphology and material properties across conodont dental diversity. Conodonts, early vertebrates, are thought to have evolved complex tooth tissue as an adaptation for feeding. Here, the authors use Electron Backscatter Diffraction to show increasing dental crystallographic order through conodont evolution, in parallel with dietary adaptations.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Protecting stable biological nomenclatural systems enables universal communication: A collective international appeal},

author = {Pedro Jiménez-Mejías and Saúl Manzano and Vinita Gowda and Frank-Thorsten Krell and Mei-Ying Lin and Santiago Martín-Bravo and Laura Martín-Torrijos and Nieto Feliner, Gonzalo and Sergei L Mosyakin and Robert F C Naczi and Carmen Acedo and Inés Álvarez and Jorge V Crisci and Luceño Garcés, Modesto and John Manning and Moreno Saiz, Juan Carlos and A Muthama Muasya and Ricarda Riina and Sánchez Meseguer, Andrea and Daniel Sánchez-Mata and additional 1543 coauthors},

url = {https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biae043/7696204},

doi = {10.1093/biosci/biae043},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-06-19},

urldate = {2024-06-19},

journal = {BioScience},

pages = {biae043},

abstract = {The fundamental value of universal nomenclatural systems in biology is that they enable unambiguous scientific communication. However, the stability of these systems is threatened by recent discussions asking for a fairer nomenclature, raising the possibility of bulk revision processes for “inappropriate”names. It is evident that such proposals come from very deep feelings, but we show how they can irreparably damage the foundation of biological communication and, in turn, the sciences that depend on it. There are four essential consequences of objective codes of nomenclature: universality, stability, neutrality, and transculturality. These codes provide fair and impartial guides to the principles governing biological nomenclature and allow unambiguous universal communication in biology. Accordingly, no subjective proposals should be allowed to undermine them.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{doi:10.1098/rsbl.2024.0041,

title = {A diadectid skin impression and its implications for the evolutionary origin of epidermal scales},

author = {Sebastian Voigt and Gabriela Calábková and Izabela Ploch and Vojtěch Nosek and Wojciech Pawlak and Paweł Raczyński and Frederik Spindler and Ralf Werneburg},

url = {https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rsbl.2024.0041},

doi = {10.1098/rsbl.2024.0041},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-05-22},

urldate = {2024-01-01},

journal = {Biology Letters},

volume = {20},

number = {5},

pages = {20240041},

abstract = {Corneous skin appendages are not only common and diverse in crown-group amniotes but also present in some modern amphibians. This raises the still unresolved question of whether the ability to form corneous skin appendages is an apomorphy of a common ancestor of amphibians and amniotes or evolved independently in both groups. So far, there is no palaeontological contribution to the issue owing to the lack of keratin soft tissue preservation in Palaeozoic anamniotes. New data are provided by a recently discovered ichnofossil specimen from the early Permian of Poland that shows monospecific tetrapod footprints associated with a partial scaly body impression. The traces can be unambiguously attributed to diadectids and are interpreted as the globally first evidence of horned scales in tetrapods close to the origin of amniotes. Taking hitherto little-noticed scaly skin impressions of lepospondyl stem amniotes from the early Permian of Germany into account, the possibility has to be considered that the evolutionary origin of epidermal scales deeply roots among anamniotes.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{doi:10.1098/rsos.240233,

title = {Extreme neck elongation evolved despite strong developmental constraints in bizarre Triassic reptiles—implications for neck modularity in archosaurs},

author = {Adam Rytel and Christine Böhmer and Stephan N. F. Spiekman and Mateusz Tałanda},

url = {https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rsos.240233},

doi = {10.1098/rsos.240233},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-05-15},

urldate = {2024-01-01},

journal = {Royal Society Open Science},

volume = {11},

number = {5},

pages = {240233},

abstract = {The Triassic radiation of vertebrates saw the emergence of the modern vertebrate groups, as well as numerous extinct animals exhibiting conspicuous, unique anatomical characteristics. Among these, members of Tanystropheidae (Reptilia: Archosauromorpha) displayed cervical vertebral elongation to an extent unparalleled in any other vertebrate. Tanystropheids were exceptionally ecologically diverse and had a wide spatial and temporal distribution. This may have been related to their neck anatomy, yet its evolution and functional properties remain poorly understood. We used geometric morphometrics to capture the intraspecific variation between the vertebrae comprising the cervical column among early archosauromorphs, to trace the evolutionary history of neck elongation in these animals. Our results show that the cervical series of these reptiles can be divided into modules corresponding to those of extant animals. Tanystropheids achieved neck elongation through somite elongation and a shift between cervical and thoracic regions, without presacral vertebrae count increase—contrary to crown archosaurs. This suggests a peculiar developmental constraint that strongly affected the evolution of tanystropheids. The data obtained just at the base of the archosauromorph phylogenetic tree are crucial for further studies on the modularity of vertebral columns of not only Triassic reptile groups but extant and other extinct animals as well.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-024-00433-7,

title = {Dental Topographic Analysis of Living and Fossil Lorisoids: Investigations into Markers of Exudate Feeding in Lorises and Galagos},

author = {Keegan R. Selig and Sergi López-Torres and Anne M. Burrows and Mary T. Silcox},

url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10764-024-00433-7},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-024-00433-7},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-05-08},

urldate = {2024-01-01},

journal = {International Journal of Primatology},

volume = {0},

number = {0},

pages = {0-0},

abstract = {Abstract Studies integrating patterns of molar morphology and diet are particularly useful to address questions of evolutionary history and diet in extinct taxa. However, such studies are lacking among lorisoids compared with other primates. Lorisoidea is distinctive when considering diet as some taxa consume large quantities of gums or exudates, whereas others consume none. Although there has been previous study of the relationship between craniodental form and exudate feeding, little is known about how patterns of exudate feeding covary with variation in molar topography. We analyzed a sample (n = 52) of lorisoids representing 17 extant taxa and one extinct taxon (Karanisia clarki). We used dental topographic metrics to quantify functional aspects (i.e., curvature, complexity, and relief) of occlusal morphology. We also used ancestral state reconstruction to estimate topographic parameters for the last common ancestors (LCA) of Lorisoidea, Lorisidae, and Galagidae. As with previous studies, we found that higher topographic values characterize insectivores, whereas frugivores tend to have lower values. We reconstructed the LCA of Lorisoidea, Lorisidae, and Galagidae as insectivorous, with Lorisidae slightly more insectivorous, and potentially more exudativorous than Galagidae. Moreover, we identified a significant interaction between the primary dietary component (i.e., fruit or insects) and the level of exudate feeding in our sample, with exudate-feeding insectivores being associated with lower topographic values than exclusive insectivores. Finally, we reconstruct K. clarki as an insectivore, contrary to previous findings, although whether the animal fed on exudates remains ambiguous. Overall, our results provide a framework for testing ecological hypotheses about lorisoids and may point to a unique pattern of molar topography among exudativores.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.21700,

title = {Aplacophoran traits in the late Ordovician septemchitonid polyplacophorans},

author = {Jerzy Dzik},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jmor.21700},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.21700},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-05-08},

urldate = {2024-05-22},

journal = {Journal of Morphology},

volume = {285},

number = {5},

pages = {e21700},

abstract = {Abstract A sample of phosphatized, originally calcareous, mollusk shells from the Katian age uppermost Mójcza Limestone at its type locality yielded a few hundred polyplacophoran plates. The chelodids are very rare among them. Three septemchitonid species dominate. They represent a gradation from underived steep roof-like plates to almost cylindrical ones, leaving only a narrow ventral slit for the foot. Apparently, this represents the first step toward the extremely derived ‘segmented clam’ Bauplan of the Silurian Carnicoleus, with plates completely closed at the venter except for the mouth and anal openings. To enable growth, the plates became thinner and more flexible (or perhaps resorbed) along the dorsum. The tendency toward reduction of the ventral gap of the plates in the early Paleozoic septemchitonid polyplacophorans implies their lack of ability to cling to the substrate with a muscular foot. In compensation, their plates changed toward a more efficient protective function, covering the animal body sides more and more completely. This may explain the origin of the ventral furrow of extant solenogasters hiding the rudimentary foot. An opposite route was chosen by the coeval Acaenoplax lineage, in which the plates did not contact each other, exposing much of the soft body on the dorsum. In both cases the animals appeared to be worm-like, perhaps representing different ways of evolution from the Paleozoic chitons to the extant aplacophorans.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae048,

title = {Osteology, phylogenetic affinities, and palaeobiogeographic significance of the bizarre ornithischian dinosaur Ajkaceratops kozmai from the Late Cretaceous European archipelago},

author = {Łukasz Czepiński and Daniel Madzia},

url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae048},

doi = {10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae048},

issn = {0024-4082},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-04-29},

urldate = {2024-01-01},

journal = {Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society},

pages = {zlae048},

abstract = {At the climax of their evolutionary history in the latest Cretaceous, ceratopsian dinosaurs were among the most dominant components of North American and Asian land ecosystems. In other continental landmasses, however, ceratopsians were extraordinarily rare and the affinities of their proposed representatives often turned out to be inconclusive. Arguably the most significant evidence of Ceratopsia from outside North America and Asia is represented by Ajkaceratops kozmai from the Santonian (Upper Cretaceous) of Hungary. We provide a detailed osteological description of Ajkaceratops and highlight its bizarre anatomy. Ajkaceratops has been ‘traditionally’ interpreted to represent a Bagaceratops-like coronosaur, and its occurrence on the European islands was hypothesized to probably result from an early Late Cretaceous dispersal event from Asia. However, while the snout of Ajkaceratops may resemble that of some ceratopsians, closer inspection of the preserved elements indicates that these similarities are largely superficial. While it cannot be ruled out that Ajkaceratops represents a highly peculiar member of the clade, its placement is far from certain. Still, the discovery of Ajkaceratops exemplifies the importance and uniqueness of European dinosaur faunas.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.25420,

title = {Dental caries in living and extinct strepsirrhines with insights into diet},

author = {Keegan R. Selig and Sergi López-Torres and Anne M. Burrows and Mary T. Silcox and Jin Meng},

url = {https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ar.25420},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.25420},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-03-11},

urldate = {2024-03-11},

journal = {The Anatomical Record},

volume = {307},

issue = {6},

pages = {1995-2006},

abstract = {Abstract Dental caries is one of the most common diseases afflicting modern humans and occurs in both living and extinct non-human primates, as well as other mammalian species. Compared to other primates, less is known about the etiology or frequency of caries among the Strepsirrhini. Given the link between caries and diet, caries frequency may be informative about the dietary ecology of a given animal. Understanding rates of caries in wild populations is also critical to assessing dental health in captive populations. Here, we examine caries frequency in a sample of 36 extant strepsirrhine species (n = 316 individuals) using odontological collections of wild-, non-captive animals housed at the American Museum of Natural History by counting the number of specimens characterized by the disease. Additionally, in the context of studying caries lesions in strepsirrhines, case studies were also conducted to test if similar lesions were found in their fossil relatives. In particular, two fossil strepsirrhine species were analyzed: the earliest Late Eocene Karanisia clarki, and the subfossil lemur Megaladapis madagascariensis. Our results suggest that caries affects 13.92% of the extant individuals we examined. The frugivorous and folivorous taxa were characterized by the highest overall frequency of caries, whereas the insectivores, gummivores, and omnivores had much lower caries frequencies. Our results suggest that caries may be common among wild populations of strepsirrhines, and in fact is more prevalent than in many catarrhines and platyrrhines. These findings have important implications for understanding caries, diet, and health in living and fossil taxa.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{sulej2024new,

title = {New finds of Olenekian, Early Triassic, trematosaurid amphibians and prolocophonid reptiles from Poland},

author = {Tomasz Sulej and Marcin Machalski and Mateusz Tałanda},

url = {https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app011092023.html},

doi = {10.4202/app.01109.2023},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-03-08},

urldate = {2024-03-08},

journal = {Acta Palaeontologica Polonica},

volume = {69},

number = {1},

pages = {49–56},

abstract = {The continental Lower Triassic (Middle Buntsandstein) siliciclastic deposits exposed along the margins of the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland, yield locally abundant vertebrate footprints and bones. Although the footprints have been described in a number of studies, providing, for example, new insights into the origin of dinosaurs, there are few studies focusing on the bones. Here, we describe new amphibian and reptile material from the Buntsandstein fluvial sandstones of early Olenekian age exposed at Stryczowice on the north-eastern margin of the Holy Cross Mountains. These finds include fragmentary cranial specimens referred to as Trematosauridae gen. et sp. indet. and Procolophonidae gen. et sp. indet. Faunal differences between Stryczowice and the best-known Polish Olenekian vertebrate-bearing site of Czatkowice 1 near Kraków support heterogeneity in the Early Triassic vertebrate distribution across Pangea.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{jm-42-193-2023,

title = {Anagenetic evolution and peramorphosis of a latest Devonian conodont from Holy Cross Mountain (Poland)},

author = {Przemysław Świś},

url = {https://jm.copernicus.org/articles/42/193/2023/},

doi = {10.5194/jm-42-193-2023},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-11-20},

urldate = {2023-01-01},

journal = {Journal of Micropalaeontology},

volume = {42},

number = {2},

pages = {193–210},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{doi:10.1080/02724634.2023.2265445,

title = {A new Middle Triassic vertebrate assemblage from Miedary (southern Poland)},

author = {Łukasz Czepiński and Wojciech Pawlak and Adam Rytel and Mateusz Tałanda and Tomasz Szczygielski and Tomasz Sulej},

url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2023.2265445},

doi = {10.1080/02724634.2023.2265445},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-10-27},

urldate = {2023-10-27},

journal = {Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology},

volume = {0},

number = {0},

pages = {e2265445},

publisher = {Taylor & Francis},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad057,

title = {Limb anatomy of the Triassic turtles: appendicular osteology of Proterochersis (Testudinata, Proterochersidae)},

author = {Tomasz Szczygielski and Rafał Piechowski},

url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad057},

doi = {10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad057},

issn = {0024-4082},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-07-25},

urldate = {2023-01-01},

journal = {Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society},

pages = {zlad057},

abstract = {The turtle locomotor system is heavily modified owing to the severe impact of development of the shell on the body plan of these reptiles. Although limb and girdle osteology of the earliest, Triassic turtles is relatively well understood in general, the exact impacts of variability, ontogeny and preservation (e.g. deformation) on the observed morphologies have rarely been considered in detail. Here, we describe in detail and document the osteology and intraspecific variability of the limbs and girdles of Proterochersis spp., the basalmost true turtles (Testudinata). We also provide a synthesis of currently available data and detailed comparisons with other Triassic stem turtles to gain a better understanding of the diagnostic value of the early turtle appendicular skeleton and to pave the way for future biomechanical and functional studies. Our data suggest that Proterochersis spp. could be at least partly aquatic and could change their preferred habitat during ontogeny, with larger (and, presumably, older) specimens presenting more characters suggestive of a more terrestrial environment.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Czepiński_2023,

title = {Skull of a dromaeosaurid Shri devi from the Upper Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert suggests convergence to the North American forms},

author = {Łukasz Czepiński},

doi = {10.4202/app.01065.2023},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-06-21},

urldate = {2023-06-21},

journal = {Acta Palaeontologica Polonica},

volume = {68},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12650,

title = {Cranial endocast of Anagale gobiensis (Anagalidae) and its implications for early brain evolution in Euarchontoglires},

author = {Sergi López-Torres and Ornella C. Bertrand and Madlen M. Lang and Łucja Fostowicz-Frelik and Mary T. Silcox and Jin Meng},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pala.12650},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12650},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-06-01},

urldate = {2023-06-01},

journal = {Palaeontology},

volume = {66},

number = {3},

pages = {e12650},

abstract = {Abstract Anagalids are an extinct group of primitive mammals from the Asian Palaeogene thought to be possible basal members of Glires. Anagalid material is rare, with only a handful of crania known. Here we describe the first virtual endocast of an anagalid, based on the holotype of Anagale gobiensis (AMNH 26079; late Eocene, China), which allows for comparison with published endocasts from fossil members of modern euarchontogliran lineages (i.e. primates, rodents, lagomorphs). The endocast displays traits often observed in fossorial mammals, such as relatively small petrosal lobules and a low neocortical ratio, which would be consistent with previous inferences about use of subterranean food sources based on heavy dental wear. In fact, Anagale gobiensis has the lowest neocortical ratio yet recorded for a euarchontogliran. This species was olfaction-driven, based on the relatively large olfactory bulbs and laterally expansive palaeocortex. The endocast supports previous inferences that relatively large olfactory bulbs, partial midbrain exposure and low encephalization quotient are ancestral for Euarchontoglires, although the likely fossorial adaptations of Anagale gobiensis may also partly explain these traits. While Anagale gobiensis is a primitive mammal in many aspects, some of its derived endocranial traits point towards a new, different trajectory of brain evolution within Euarchontoglires.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{LopezE&E2023,

title = {Locomotor behavior and hearing sensitivity in an early lagomorph reconstructed from the bony labyrinth},

author = {Sergi López-Torres and Raj Bhagat and Ornella C. Bertrand and Mary T. Silcox and Łucja Fostowicz-Frelik},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ece3.9890},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9890},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-03-18},

urldate = {2023-03-18},

journal = {Ecology and Evolution},

volume = {13},

number = {3},

pages = {e9890},

abstract = {Abstract The structure of the bony labyrinth is highly informative with respect to locomotor agility (semicircular canals [SCC]) and hearing sensitivity (cochlear and oval windows). Here, we reconstructed the agility and hearing sensitivity of the stem lagomorph Megalagus turgidus from the early Oligocene of the Brule Formation of Nebraska (USA). Megalagus has proportionally smaller SCCs with respect to its body mass compared with most extant leporids but within the modern range of variability, suggesting that it was less agile than most of its modern relatives. A level of agility for Megalagus within the range of modern rabbits is consistent with the evidence from postcranial elements. The hearing sensitivity for Megalagus is in the range of extant lagomorphs for both low- and high-frequency sounds. Our data show that by the early Oligocene stem lagomorphs had already attained fundamentally rabbit-like hearing sensitivity and locomotor behavior, even though Megalagus was not a particularly agile lagomorph. This is likely because Megalagus was more of a woodland dweller than an open-habitat runner. The study of sensory evolution in Lagomorpha is practically unknown, and these results provide first advances in understanding the primitive stages for the order and how the earliest members of this clade perceived their environment.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{scott2023new,

title = {New paromomyids (Mammalia, Primates) from the Paleocene of southwestern Alberta, Canada, and an analysis of paromomyid interrelationships},

author = {Craig S Scott and Sergi López-Torres and Mary T Silcox and Richard C Fox},

url = {https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/new-paromomyids-mammalia-primates-from-the-paleocene-of-southwestern-alberta-canada-and-an-analysis-of-paromomyid-interrelationships/85328AE223A9AE66A2948F6FB06712CD},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-01-01},

urldate = {2023-01-01},

journal = {Journal of Paleontology},

pages = {1--22},

publisher = {Cambridge University Press},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Uhlik_2022,

title = {Embryogeny of Bosmina longirostris (O. F. Müller, 1785) (Bosminidae) confirms a close relationship to the superfamily Eurycercoidea (Branchiopoda, Cladocera, Anomopoda)},

author = {Marcin Uhlik and Tomasz Brzeziński},

doi = {10.1163/15685403-bja10236},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-11-18},

urldate = {2022-11-18},

journal = {Crustaceana},

volume = {95},

issue = {8-9},

pages = {907-923},

abstract = {The embryonic stages of the anomopod Bosmina longirostris of the family Bosminidae were elucidated by scanning electron microscopy. Along with the corresponding stages of Bosmina coregoni described by Kotov (2001), these findings have enabled a comparison to Dunhevedia crassa, as a representative species of the family Chydoridae, and to Eurycercus lamellatus of the family Eurycercidae. In general, the developmental patterns are similar in these four species, particularly from blastulation to the first instar. The principal difference during embryogenesis is that in D. crassa and B. longirostris five thoracopods (six in E. lamellatus) are differentiated already with endo- and exopodites.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{talanda2022synchrotron,

title = {Synchrotron tomography of a stem lizard elucidates early squamate anatomy},

author = {Mateusz Tałanda and Vincent Fernandez and Elsa Panciroli and Susan E Evans and Roger J Benson},

doi = {10.1038/s41586-022-05332-6},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-10-26},

urldate = {2022-01-01},

journal = {Nature},

volume = {611},

number = {7934},

pages = {99-104},

publisher = {Nature Publishing Group},

abstract = {Squamates (lizards and snakes) include more than 10,000 living species, descended from an ancestor that diverged more than 240 million years ago from that of their closest living relative, Sphenodon. However, a deficiency of fossil evidence1,2,3,4,5,6,7, combined with serious conflicts between molecular and morphological accounts of squamate phylogeny8,9,10,11,12,13 (but see ref. 14), has caused uncertainty about the origins and evolutionary assembly of squamate anatomy. Here we report the near-complete skeleton of a stem squamate, Bellairsia gracilis, from the Middle Jurassic epoch of Scotland, documented using high-resolution synchrotron phase-contrast tomography. Bellairsia shares numerous features of the crown group, including traits related to cranial kinesis (an important functional feature of many extant squamates) and those of the braincase and shoulder girdle. Alongside these derived traits, Bellairsia also retains inferred ancestral features including a pterygoid–vomer contact and the presence of both cervical and dorsal intercentra. Phylogenetic analyses return strong support for Bellairsia as a stem squamate, suggesting that several features that it shares with extant gekkotans are plesiomorphies, consistent with the molecular phylogenetic hypothesis that gekkotans are early-diverging squamates. We also provide confident support of stem squamate affinities for the enigmatic Oculudentavis. Our findings indicate that squamate-like functional features of the suspensorium, braincase and shoulder girdle preceded the origin of their palatal and vertebral traits and indicate the presence of advanced stem squamates as persistent components of terrestrial assemblages up to at least the middle of the Cretaceous period.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{grau2022miopetaurista,

title = {A Miopetaurista (Rodentia, Sciuridae) cranium from the Middle Miocene of Bavaria (Germany) and brain evolution in flying squirrels},

author = {Montserrat Grau-Camats and Ornella C Bertrand and Jérome Prieto and Sergi López-Torres and Mary T Silcox and Isaac Casanovas-Vilar},

doi = {10.1002/spp2.1454},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-07-25},

journal = {Papers in Palaeontology},

volume = {8},

number = {4},

pages = {e1454},

publisher = {Wiley Online Library},

abstract = {Flying squirrels (Sciurinae, Pteromyini) are the most successful group of gliding mammals. However, their fossil record mostly consists of isolated dental remains that provide very limited insights into their palaeobiology and evolution. The first skeleton of a fossil flying squirrel, belonging to the species Miopetaurista neogrivensis, has been described only recently. It presents all the diagnostic gliding-related postcranial features of its extant relatives and shows that this group has undergone very little morphological change for almost 12 myr. However, the associated cranium is badly crushed, and particular details of the cranial morphology cannot be described. Here, we describe a well-preserved cranium of the closely related Miopetaurista crusafonti from 12.5–12.0 Ma from Bavaria (Germany). Its cranial morphology is found to be almost identical to extant large flying squirrels, even in details such as the position of the foramina. The virtual endocast also shows close affinities to living large flying squirrels in morphology and in the relative volume of different brain regions, showing diagnostic features such as the size reduction of petrosal lobules and olfactory bulbs. However, the encephalization quotient (EQ) and neocortical ratio are lower than observed in extant flying squirrels. EQ is known to increase through time in squirrels, but might also be related to locomotion, given that arboreal and gliding squirrels display higher EQs than terrestrial ones. Because Miopetaurista was certainly a glider, its comparatively lower EQ and neocortical size support the existence of an independent trend of increasing EQ and neocortical complexity in this flying squirrel subclade.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Dzik2022,

title = {Evolution and migration of conodonts and ammonoids near the end of Devonian recorded in distant localities},

author = {Jerzy Dzik and Nguyen Duc Phong and Nguyen Thi Thuy and Przemyslaw Swiś},

url = {https://www.micropress.org/microaccess/check/2272},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-03-15},

journal = {Stratigraphy},

volume = {19},

number = {1},

pages = {27-50},

abstract = {The Devonian-Carboniferous boundary is allegedly marked by one of the most catastrophic global extinctions associated with sedimentation of the Hangenberg black shale. A dense sampling of the Kowala section in the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland, challenges this view, showing that the faunal dynamics across the Hangenberg black shalewas not more dramatic than that across the preceding Kowala black shale. Quantitative analysis and biologically meaningful conodont apparatus study of the Kowala material offer probably the most complete record of faunal change in the latest Famennian and earliest Tournaisian among those sampled bed-by-bed for ammonoids and conodonts. It appears that the faunal dynamics of both cephalopods and conodonts was controlled by environmental changes that resulted in numerous immigrations and disappearances of particular lineages. Only a small fraction of lineages persisted long enough at the place, and transformed their morphology fast enough, to leave a record of their evolution. Most of the evolution apparently took place elsewhere. Locations of remote refugia where these lineages evolved in the time span bracketed by the Kowala and Hangenberg black shale events remain to be identified. Conodont apparatus study on geographically distant Vietnamese locality Cat Ba provides evidence that at least in the latest Famennian some conodont species unknown from Poland were present in Vietnam. Moreover, the contribution of species known from both localities to Polish and Vietnamese fossil assemblages was dramatically different.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Pawlak_2022,

title = {Triassic fish faunas from Miedary (Upper Silesia, Poland) and their implications for understanding paleosalinity},

author = {Wojciech Pawlak and Piotr Rozwalak and Tomasz Sulej},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S003101822200030X},

issn = {0031-0182},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-02-09},

urldate = {2022-01-01},

journal = {Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology},

volume = {590},

pages = {110860},

abstract = {We describe two new fish-dominated faunas from the Middle Triassic (Ladinian) Miedary site, Upper Silesia, Poland, and present a comparative analysis of Middle-to-Late Triassic vertebrate assemblages from the Germanic Basin, in order to explore the influence of salinity on faunal composition. The composition of the assemblage from dolomite beds at Miedary is similar to those from the Muschalkalk facies, whereas the assemblage from glauconite beds appears to be the first brackish vertebrate assemblage of the Serrolepis lake-type recognized from the eastern Germanic Basin. Comparative analysis of all sites, using hierarchical clustering, nonmetric multidimensional scaling, and principal component approaches, revealed the existence of vertebrate taxa associated withfreshwater, brackish and marine conditions, as well as euryhaline taxa with wide salinity preferences. Moreover, it confirms the brackish nature of Serrolepis-bearing assemblages, and suggests that Serrolepis suevicus is a brackish specialist, indicative of oligohaline to miohaline paleosalinities. The Middle-Late Triassic vertebrate faunas appear dominated by stenohaline taxa, with a conspicuous separation of species living in the freshwater and marine conditions. The euryhaline taxa are rare, and comprise Acrodus lateralis, Eusauropterygia, Lissodus nodosus, and Saurichthyiformes.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Leonhard2021,

title = {Growth and feeding ecology of coniform conodonts},

author = {Isabella Leonhard and Bryan Shirley and Duncan J E Murdock and John Repetski and Emilia Jarochowska},

doi = {10.7717/peerj.12505},

issn = {2167-8359},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-12-15},

journal = {PeerJ},

volume = {9},

pages = {e12505},

abstract = {<p> Conodonts were the first vertebrates to develop mineralized dental tools, known as elements. Recent research suggests that conodonts were macrophagous predators and/or scavengers but we do not know how this feeding habit emerged in the earliest coniform conodonts, since most studies focus on the derived, ‘complex’ conodonts. Previous modelling of element position and mechanical properties indicate they were capable of food processing. A direct test would be provided through evidence of <italic>in vivo</italic> element crown tissue damage or through <italic>in vivo</italic> incorporated chemical proxies for a shift in their trophic position during ontogeny. Here we focus on coniform elements from two conodont taxa, the phylogenetically primitive <italic>Proconodontus muelleri</italic> Miller, 1969 from the late Cambrian and the more derived <italic>Panderodus equicostatus</italic> Rhodes, 1954 from the Silurian. Proposing that this extremely small sample is, however, representative for these taxa, we aim to describe in detail the growth of an element from each of these taxa in order to the test the following hypotheses: (1) <italic>Panderodus</italic> and <italic>Proconodontus</italic> processed hard food, which led to damage of their elements consistent with prey capture function; and (2) both genera shifted towards higher trophic levels during ontogeny. We employed backscatter electron (BSE) imaging, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and synchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM) to identify growth increments, wear and damage surfaces, and the Sr/Ca ratio in bioapatite as a proxy for the trophic position. Using these data, we can identify whether they exhibit determinate or indeterminate growth and whether both species followed linear or allometric growth dynamics. Growth increments (27 in <italic>Pa. equicostatus</italic> and 58 in <italic>Pr. muelleri</italic> ) were formed in bundles of 4–7 increments in <italic>Pa. equicostatus</italic> and 7–9 in <italic>Pr. muelleri</italic> . We interpret the bundles as analogous to Retzius periodicity in vertebrate teeth. Based on applied optimal resource allocation models, internal periodicity might explain indeterminate growth in both species. They also allow us to interpret the almost linear growth of both individuals as an indicator that there was no size-dependent increase in mortality in the ecosystems where they lived <italic>e.g</italic> ., as would be the case in the presence of larger predators. Our findings show that periodic growth was present in early conodonts and preceded tissue repair in response to wear and damage. We found no microwear and the Sr/Ca ratio, and therefore the trophic position, did not change substantially during the lifetimes of either individual. Trophic ecology of coniform conodonts differed from the predatory and/or scavenger lifestyle documented for “complex” conodonts. We propose that conodonts adapted their life histories to top-down controlled ecosystems during the Nekton Revolution. </p>},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Czepinski2021,

title = {An Upper Triassic Terrestrial Vertebrate Assemblage from the Forgotten Kocury Locality (Poland) with a New Aetosaur Taxon},

author = {Łukasz Czepiński and Dawid Dróżdż and Tomasz Szczygielski and Mateusz Tałanda and Wojciech Pawlak and Antoni Lewczuk and Adam Rytel and Tomasz Sulej},

url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2021.1898977},

doi = {10.1080/02724634.2021.1898977},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-04-14},

journal = {Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology},

pages = {e1898977},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{SWIS2021,

title = {A new Devonian species of the enigmatic Carboniferous conodont Dollymae},

author = {Przemysław Świś},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871174X21000251},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2021.03.003},

issn = {1871-174X},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-03-30},

journal = {Palaeoworld},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{DZIK2021101026,

title = {Protaspis larva of an aglaspidid-like arthropod from the Ordovician of Siberia and its habitat},

author = {Jerzy Dzik},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1467803920301493},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asd.2020.101026},

issn = {1467-8039},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-01-01},

journal = {Arthropod Structure & Development},

volume = {61},

pages = {101026},

abstract = {A fossil larva lacking segmentation of the calcified carapace, closely resembling the trilobite protaspis, has been found associated with other skeletal elements of an angarocaridid Girardevia species in the mid Darriwilian of central Siberia. The presence of protaspis larvae in the angarocaridids, generally believed to represent a branch of the Aglaspidida, supports their proximity to trilobites and proves a low position on the arthropod phylogenetic tree but does not necessarily contradict the chelicerate affinity. The cephalic appendages of angarocaridids bore massive gnathobases with detachable spines, closely similar to those known in extant xiphosurans and in their probable Cambrian relatives. The stratigraphic succession of the angarocaridids, their phosphatized cuticle pieces being abundant in the Ordovician strata of Siberia, shows a gradual improvement of mechanical resistance of their carapaces, eventually resulting in a honeycomb structure. The associated benthic mollusc assemblage is dominated with the bellerophontids showing high mortality at metamorphosis and only the limpet-like Pterotheca, infaunal bivalves, and scaphopods being able to survive this in a substantial number. This suggests a strong selective pressure from predators equipped with well-skeletonised oral apparatuses able to crush mineralized body covers of their prey. Possibly, these were some of the associated conodonts of appropriate size and co-evolving towards their ability to crush more and more resistant cuticle. Less likely candidates for durophagy are endoceratid or orthoceratid cephalopods. Also the angarocaridids themselves, equipped with robust gnathobases of cephalic appendages, apparently predated on benthic shelly animals.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Sulej26861,

title = {The earliest-known mammaliaform fossil from Greenland sheds light on origin of mammals},

author = {Tomasz Sulej and Grzegorz Krzesiński and Mateusz Tałanda and Andrzej S. Wolniewicz and Błażej Błażejowski and Niels Bonde and Piotr Gutowski and Maksymilian Sienkiewicz and Grzegorz Niedźwiedzki},

url = {https://www.pnas.org/content/117/43/26861},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2012437117 },

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-10-27},

journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},

volume = {117},

number = {43},

pages = {26861-26867},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{doi:10.1080/08912963.2018.1471477,

title = {A new early Late Triassic non-mammaliaform eucynodont from Poland},

author = {Tomasz Sulej and Grzegorz Niedźwiedzki and Mateusz Tałanda and Dawid Dróżdż and Ewa Hara},

url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2018.1471477},

doi = {10.1080/08912963.2018.1471477},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-01-01},

journal = {Historical Biology},

volume = {32},

number = {1},

pages = {80-92},

publisher = {Taylor & Francis},

abstract = {ABSTRACTBicuspid, tricuspid and tetracuspid postcanine teeth of a new non-mammaliaform eucynodont, Polonodon woznikiensis gen. et sp. nov. from the mid-late Carnian (early Late Triassic) of Woźniki clay-pit, Silesia (southern Poland) show incipient root division. They are similar to teeth of Dromatheriidae from the Carnian (early Late Triassic) to the Rhaetian (late Late Triassic) of Europe, India, and USA and the dentition of brasilodontids from the early Norian (mid Late Triassic) of Brazil. The P. woznikiensis teeth differ from those of the latter group mostly in the absence of cingulum. Some of the new fossils from Silesia provide the oldest Laurasian record of eucynodont teeth with the main cusp (a) anterior edge very long as the mesial cusp b is placed much lower than cusp c (distal). The contemporaneous Alemoatherium huebneri, from Gondwana, had similar postcanines. The findings from Poland indicate that this postcanine morphology was present in non-mammaliaform cynodonts from both hemispheres as early as the mid-late Carnian. The distal end of the humerus from the same locality is also described.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Pawlak2020DipnoanFT,

title = {Dipnoan from the Upper Triassic of East Greenland and remarks about palaeobiogeography of Ptychoceratodus},

author = {Wojciech Pawlak and Mateusz Tałanda and Tomasz Sulej and Grzegorz Niedźwiedzki},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-01-01},

urldate = {2020-01-01},

journal = {Acta Palaeontologica Polonica},

volume = {65},

pages = {561-574},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Pindakiewicz2020FeedingCA,

title = {Feeding convergence among ray-finned fishes: teeth of the herbivorous actinopterygians from the latest Permian of East European Platform, Russia},

author = {Maciej Pindakiewicz and Mateusz Tałanda and Tomasz Sulej and Grzegorz Niedźwiedzki and A G Sennikov and A Bakayev and V V Bulanov and V Golubev and A V Minikh},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-01-01},

journal = {Acta Palaeontologica Polonica},

volume = {65},

number = {1},

pages = {71--79},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.13155,

title = {The locomotor musculature and posture of the early dinosauriform Silesaurus opolensis provides a new look into the evolution of Dinosauromorpha},

author = {Rafał Piechowski and Mateusz Tałanda},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/joa.13155},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.13155},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-01-01},

journal = {Journal of Anatomy},

volume = {236},

number = {6},

pages = {1044-1100},

abstract = {Abstract It is widely accepted that ornithodirans (bird lineage) and some pseudosuchians (crocodilian lineage) achieved fully erect limb posture in different ways. Ornithodirans have buttress-erected hindlimbs, while some advanced pseudosuchians have pillar-erected hindlimbs. Analysis of the musculoskeletal apparatus of the early dinosauriform Silesaurus opolensis challenges this view. This ornithodiran had pillar-erected hindlimbs like some pseudosuchians. This condition could be autapomorphic or represents a transitional state between adductor-controlled limb posture of early dinosauromorphs and the buttress-erected hindlimbs of dinosaurs. This sequence of changes is supported by Triassic tracks left by animals of the dinosaurian lineage. It was associated with the strong development of knee flexors and extensors. Furthermore, the forelimbs of Silesaurus were fully erect, analogously to those of early sauropods. Members of both lineages reduced the muscles related to the protraction, retraction and bending of the limb. They used forelimbs more as a body support and less for propulsion. A similar scapula and humerus construction can be found in the Lagerpetidae and Lewisuchus, suggesting that long, slender, fully erected forelimbs are primitive for all Dinosauromorpha, not just Silesauridae. Early dinosaurs redeveloped several muscle attachments on the forelimb, probably in relation to bipedality.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}