Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Richard J. Butler, Vincent Fernandez, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Joao Vasco Leite, David J. Gower
Summary: The Mambawakale ruhuhu fossil specimen from the Manda Beds of southwest Tanzania provides important insights into the early radiation of archosaurian reptiles. It possesses unique cranial features that distinguish it from other archosaurs in the Manda Beds, and is considered to be an early diverging pseudosuchian. It is one of the largest pseudosuchians known from the Middle Triassic.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Lisie Vitoria Soares Damke, Flavio Augusto Pretto, Bianca Martins Mastrantonio, Mauricio Silva Garcia, Atila Augusto Stock Da-Rosa
Summary: Loricata refers to a group of hypercarnivorous pseudosuchian archosaurs that were top predators in the Middle to Late Triassic ecosystems. Fossil records of this group are abundant in the lower portion of the Santa Maria Supersequence in southern Brazil, but become scarce or absent in subsequent units. Therefore, studying new specimens from these units is important. A new fragmentary specimen of Loricata from the lower Candelária Sequence is reported here, supporting its loricatan affinities through morphology and phylogenetic analysis.
JOURNAL OF SOUTH AMERICAN EARTH SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Tiane M. De-Oliveira, Flavio A. Pretto, Rodrigo T. Mueller, Felipe L. Pinheiro, Leonardo Kerber
Summary: The Triassic of South America is known for its diverse fossil assemblage, including various terrestrial tetrapods. However, carnivore archosaurs are rare in Brazilian Norian outcrops. A new tooth fossil discovered at the Sa similar to o Luiz site in Brazil provides evidence of a previously unidentified medium/large-sized carnivorous archosaur.
JOURNAL OF SOUTH AMERICAN EARTH SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Voltaire D. Paes Neto, Julia B. Desojo, Ana C. B. Brust, Ana M. Ribeiro, Cesar L. Schultz, Marina B. Soares
Summary: This study describes the first braincase of the basal aetosaur Aetosauroides, revealing shared and distinct features with other aetosaurs and erpetosuchids, providing valuable phylogenetic information within Pseudosuchia relationships.
JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Christopher T. Griffin, Sterling J. Nesbitt
ANATOMICAL RECORD-ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Sterling J. Nesbitt, Max C. Langer, Martin D. Ezcurra
ANATOMICAL RECORD-ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Emma R. Schachner, Randall B. Irmis, Adam K. Huttenlocker, Kent Sanders, Robert L. Cieri, Sterling J. Nesbitt
ANATOMICAL RECORD-ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Paleontology
Alexander Beyl, Sterling Nesbitt, Michelle R. Stocker
JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Christian F. Kammerer, Sterling J. Nesbitt, John J. Flynn, Lovasoa Ranivoharimanana, Andre R. Wyss
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2020)
Article
Biology
Christopher T. Griffin, Michelle R. Stocker, Caitlin Colleary, Candice M. Stefanic, Emily J. Lessner, Mitchell Riegler, Kiersten Formoso, Krista Koeller, Sterling J. Nesbitt
Summary: Morphology plays a crucial role in vertebrate paleontology, providing the basis for taxonomic identification and evolutionary hypotheses. Assessing maturity is essential for studying ontogenetic changes, population structure, and paleoecology in saurian reptiles, but the methodological challenges and terminological ambiguity need to be addressed. Integrating data from extant and extinct taxa, as well as using multiple lines of evidence, is crucial for improving clarity and coherence in maturity assessment among saurian reptiles.
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Martin D. Ezcurra, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Mario Bronzati, Fabio Marco Dalla Vecchia, Federico L. Agnolin, Roger B. J. Benson, Federico Brisson Egli, Sergio F. Cabreira, Serjoscha W. Evers, Adriel R. Gentil, Randall B. Irmis, Agustin G. Martinelli, Fernando E. Novas, Lucio Roberto da Silva, Nathan D. Smith, Michelle R. Stocker, Alan H. Turner, Max C. Langer
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Sterling J. Nesbitt, Michelle R. Stocker, Sankar Chatterjee, John R. Horner, Mark B. Goodwin
Summary: The radiation of archosauromorph reptiles in the Triassic Period resulted in a collection of diverse forms with varied ecologies and body sizes. The study describes the cranial anatomy of Triopticus primus and identifies a second dome-headed form, Kranosaura kuttyi, likely the sister taxon of Triopticus primus. The presence of 'dome-headed' archosauromorphs at two localities suggests their widespread distribution and potential involvement in more assemblages than currently recognized.
JOURNAL OF ANATOMY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Caitlin Colleary, Hector M. Lamadrid, Shane S. O'Reilly, Andrei Dolocan, Sterling J. Nesbitt
Summary: Biomolecules preserved in fossils are expanding our understanding of ancient animal biology and evolution. Using mass spectrometry and analytical techniques, researchers have found that endogenous amino acids, amides, and lipids can be well preserved in fossil bones, with dense cortical bone providing better preservation of biomolecules.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Gabriel Mestriner, Aaron LeBlanc, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Julio C. A. Marsola, Randall B. Irmis, Atila Augusto Stock Da-Rosa, Ana Maria Ribeiro, Jorge Ferigolo, Max Langer
Summary: Histological data show that silesaurids do not have the permanent gomphosis seen in crocodylians and dinosaurs, but instead exhibit delayed ankylosis, with teeth being suspended in sockets by a periodontal ligament before eventually mineralizing and fusing to the jaws. This suggests a paedomorphic trend in tooth attachment evolution, with possible convergence in the dinosaur and crocodylian gomphosis. The relative duration of different phases of dental ontogeny needs to be carefully considered when analyzing dental characters in early archosaur phylogenies.
ANATOMICAL RECORD-ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Jean-Sebastien Steyer, Brandon R. Peecook, Thomas Arbez, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Steve Tolan, Michelle R. Stocker, Roger M. H. Smith, Kenneth D. Angielczyk, Christian A. Sidor
Summary: Recent findings of Temnospondyl specimens from the Triassic of Tanzania and Zambia provide insights into the taxonomic and ecological diversity during that period, as well as the rapid recovery of these animal groups after the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. These discoveries contribute to a better understanding of the impact of this extinction event on the tetrapod faunas of southern Pangea.
Article
Biology
B. M. Wynd, J. C. Uyeda, S. J. Nesbitt
Summary: Allometry patterns are crucial for studying evolutionary constraints and ontogenetic growth in species. Fossil specimens may be distorted, affecting the accuracy of analyses. This study found that a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) is more effective than traditional methods in reconstructing allometry with distorted specimens.
INTEGRATIVE ORGANISMAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Davide Foffa, Richard J. Butler, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Stig Walsh, Paul M. Barrett, Stephen L. Brusatte, Nicholas C. Fraser
EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sterling J. Nesbitt, John M. Zawiskie, Robert M. Dawley
Article
Paleontology
Rodrigo T. Muller, M. Belen von Baczko, Julia B. Desojo, Sterling J. Nesbitt
ACTA PALAEONTOLOGICA POLONICA
(2020)