Review
Environmental Sciences
Felipe A. Alencar Goyanna, Moises Bezerra Fernandes, Guelson Batista da Silva, Luiz Drude de Lacerda
Summary: Anthropogenic activities contribute significantly to atmospheric Hg emissions. Oceanic predator fishes in the marine habitat bioaccumulate Hg, with human exposure mainly through consumption. This study analyzed publications from 1973 to 2022 to investigate Hg contamination in different fish species, finding higher Hg concentrations in sharks compared to bony fishes. While different regions were identified, overall Hg concentrations did not show significant differences. The study also highlighted the risks of consuming these species, as some individuals exceeded safety limits set by health agencies worldwide.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Bart de Lange, Emmanuel Chenal, Henk J. Diependaal, Jelle W. F. Reumer
Summary: This article describes the fossils of chondrichthyan and actinopterygian fish from the Winterswijk quarry in the Late Norian deposits. The composition of fish species varies depending on the location, with differences in the abundance of chondrichthyans and actinopterygians. The ecological circumstances, such as oxygen levels and freshwater input, might explain these variations.
NETHERLANDS JOURNAL OF GEOSCIENCES-GEOLOGIE EN MIJNBOUW
(2023)
Article
Geology
Harriet Williams, Christopher J. Duffin, Claudia Hildebrandt, Adam Parker, Deborah Hutchinson, Michael J. Benton
Summary: Westbury Garden Cliff has been a notable site for Rhaetian bone beds for over a century, preserving well-preserved bones of various ancient organisms. The bone beds at different localities may not be exactly the same age, and the succession at Westbury Garden Cliff may have started later compared to elsewhere, possibly due to progressive inundation of the Welsh High, the nearest land.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION
(2022)
Article
Geology
Matthieu Moreau, Christopher J. Duffin, Claudia Hildebrandt, Deborah Hutchinson, Adam Parker, Simon Carpenter, Michael J. Benton
Summary: The study reports an unusual case of a Rhaetian bone bed found in Saltford, which is thicker and unconsolidated compared to other bone beds. The bone bed contains a diverse marine microvertebrate fauna, dominated by sharks, actinopterygian fishes, and reptiles.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION
(2021)
Article
Geology
Jun A. Ebersole, Sergey Solonin, David J. Cicimurri, Maxim S. Arkhangelsky, Nikolay Martynovich
Summary: A diverse fish paleofauna has been discovered in the upper Campanian portion of the Rybushka Formation in Saratov Oblast, Russia. This includes two holocephalans, twelve elasmobranchs, and six teleosts. Many of these taxa are new to the Campanian fish record in Russia and demonstrate taxonomic overlap with North America.
RIVISTA ITALIANA DI PALEONTOLOGIA E STRATIGRAFIA
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Mark W. Hounslow, Ramues Gallois
Summary: Through the study of the Middle to Upper Triassic Mercia Mudstone Group in Britain, it was found that the magnetostratigraphy of this group is compatible with that of the underlying Sherwood Sandstone Group, and the magnetostratigraphy and palynological data of the Dunscombe Mudstone Formation suggest a late Carnian to earliest Norian age. These records indicate coeval flooding events, evaporite deposits, and intervals of sand supply between the Wessex Basin and the Central European Basin in the Carnian, pointing to linked climatic and eustatic changes.
JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Gloria Arratia
Summary: The small scaleless fish Marcopoloichthys furreri from the Ladinian of Switzerland is described based on well preserved specimens. The study reveals new morphological structures and supports the idea that it is a stem teleost or teleosteomorph. The combination of characters of Marcopoloichthys is important for understanding the taxonomy and systematics of crown neopterygians.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Michael A. A. Taylor, Michael J. J. Benton
Summary: This article presents a previously unpublished anonymous manuscript memoir of Mary Anning's life, written by George Roberts. The evidence suggests that Roberts wrote the obituary of Anning and also painted her portrait. It is also mentioned that Henry De la Beche published another obituary of Anning.
JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Michael J. Benton
Summary: A recent study reveals that top predators in Southern Africa underwent successive replacement during the late Permian period, indicating that ecological crisis preceded the mass extinction.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mao Luo, Zhen Li, Mu Su, Geoffrey Michael Gadd, Zongjun Yin, Michael J. Benton, Yanhong Pan, Daran Zheng, Tao Zhao, Zibo Li, Yuxuan Chen
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yuangeng Huang, Zhong-Qiang Chen, Peter D. Roopnarine, Michael J. Benton, Laishi Zhao, Xueqian Feng, Zhenhua Li
Summary: The history of Earth's biodiversity has been marked by periodic mass extinctions, with major declines in species richness. However, the accompanying ecological collapse has seldom been quantitatively evaluated. The Permian-Triassic mass extinction, as the largest known extinction event, permanently changed marine ecosystems and facilitated the transition from the Paleozoic to Mesozoic faunas. This extinction event provides insight into the relationship between species richness and ecological dynamics during severe extinctions, but the ecological collapse during this event has not been thoroughly examined.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Shenyuan Peng, Jian Liu, Michael J. Benton, Xin Jin, Zhiqiang Shi
Summary: Abundant new dinosaur tracks were discovered at the Tianquan track site in the western Sichuan Basin, China, providing valuable information about dinosaurs from the Late Triassic. The tracks belong to small theropod dinosaurs and are dated to the mid-Norian age of 218.4 +/- 4.7 million years ago.
Article
Geography, Physical
Wen Wen, Qiyue Zhang, Juergen Kriwet, Shixue Hu, Changyong Zhou, Jinyuan Huang, Xindong Cui, Xiao Min, Michael J. Benton
Summary: Hybodont sharks were successful chondrichthyan lineages that existed from the Devonian to the Late Cretaceous. The article describes three taxa of hybodontid sharks and provides information on the tooth replacement rate in the Mesozoic of China.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Susana Gutarra, Thomas L. Stubbs, Benjamin C. Moon, Beatrice H. Heighton, Michael J. Benton
Summary: The evolution of locomotion in Mesozoic marine reptiles is characterized by two divergent paths, with a gradual increase in locomotory disparity throughout the Mesozoic. Aquatic specialization is observed in early ichthyosauromorphs, and there is overlap in morphospace between mosasauroids and ichthyosauromorphs.
Article
Paleontology
Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul, Robert A. Coram, Michael J. Benton
Summary: Rhynchosaurs were dominant herbivores in the Middle and Late Triassic, and their successful ecological expansion and global extinction were influenced by their unique dentition. The CT scanning of Bentonyx sidensis skull revealed concealed details of their teeth, allowing us to study the tooth replacement process and understand the changes in dentition and jaw morphology as they aged.
Article
Geology
James Tayler, Christopher J. Duffin, Claudia Hildebrandt, Adam Parker, Michael J. Benton
Summary: The Rhaetian succession of Doniford Bay, North Somerset, a site of fossils for over 200 years, has not been described in detail. There are two bone beds, with significant differences in sedimentary and paleontological characteristics. The upper bone bed shows rich organic matter and an absence of calcite, suggesting a deeper location of deposition and differing faunal composition compared to the lower bone bed.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION
(2023)
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sukuan Hou, Qinqin Shi, Michael J. Benton, Nikos Solounias
Summary: Wang et al. (Research Articles, 3 June 2022, eabl8316) reported on a fossil of an early Miocene animal that displayed head-butting behavior, suggesting that sexual selection drove the evolution of head-neck structures in giraffoids. However, we argue that this animal is not a giraffoid, thus weakening the support for the hypothesis of sexual selection in giraffoid head-neck evolution.
Article
Ecology
Baoyu Jiang, Yiming He, Armin Elsler, Shengyu Wang, Joseph N. N. Keating, Junyi Song, Stuart L. L. Kearns, Michael J. J. Benton
Summary: The authors discovered an oviparous choristodere from the Lower Cretaceous period in northeast China, confirming the basal archosauromorph affiliation of choristoderes. Phylogenetic analyses on this specimen and other extinct and extant amniotes suggest that the ancestral amniote displayed extended embryo retention, including viviparity. The discovery of oviparity in this assumed viviparous extinct clade supports the hypothesis that extended embryo retention was the primitive reproductive mode in basal archosauromorphs.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biology
Zichuan Qin, Chun-Chi Liao, Michael J. Benton, Emily J. Rayfield
Summary: This study investigates the functions and formation process of the hand claws of early-branching maniraptoran dinosaurs using finite element analysis and functional-space analysis. The results show distinct functional divergence among the hand claws, with early-branching ones being used for digging and late-branching ones for display. The study also confirms that most therizinosaurians were herbivores.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Zixiao Yang, Baoyu Jiang, Michael J. J. Benton, Xing Xu, Maria E. E. McNamara, David W. E. Hone
Summary: Pterosaurs displayed a wide range of body sizes, with some reaching sizes comparable to small airplanes. The growth strategies that allowed these giant pterosaurs to attain their large adult sizes are largely unknown. This study examines the wing development and performance of different pterosaur species, revealing differences in growth patterns and suggesting a shift towards enhanced parental care as a possible factor in allowing the evolution of large body sizes.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zhen Guo, Joseph T. Flannery-Sutherland, Michael J. Benton, Zhong-Qiang Chen
Summary: Using Bayesian analyses, this study finds that brachiopods and bivalves displayed similar large-scale trends of diversification before the Jurassic period. The extinction of major brachiopod clades during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction set the stage for the switch from brachiopods to bivalves, with high ocean temperatures post-extinction further facilitating the displacement of brachiopods by bivalves.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Antonio Ballell, Bohao Mai, Michael J. Benton
Summary: Ankylosaurs were important megaherbivores in Jurassic and Cretaceous ecosystems. This study investigated the skull biomechanics and feeding function of ankylosaurs, revealing diet partitioning between different ankylosaur clades and divergent evolutionary pathways in skull biomechanics.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)