Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lucas E. Fiorelli, Agustin G. Martinelli, Joao Ismael da Silva, E. Martin Hechenleitner, Marcus Vinicius Theodoro Soares, Julian C. G. Silva Junior, Jose Carlos da Silva, Elbia Messias Roteli Borges, Luiz Carlos Borges Ribeiro, Andre Marconato, Giorgio Basilici, Thiago da Silva Marinho
Summary: Titanosaurs were herbivorous dinosaurs that were widely distributed during the Cretaceous period, with South America being the most diverse region. Their success can be attributed to various physiological and ecological factors, as well as the morphological traits they acquired throughout their evolutionary history. Titanosaurs exhibited nesting behaviors in different paleoenvironments, which played a crucial role in their success.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Damiano Landi, Logan King, Qi Zhao, Emily J. Rayfield, Michael J. Benton, Laura Porro
Summary: The research revealed that Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis underwent posture and dietary shifts between hatchlings and adults, but differences in jaw systems between adults and hatchlings were found to be modest.
Article
Ecology
Bernat Vila, Albert Selles, Miguel Moreno-Azanza, Novella L. Razzolini, Alejandro Gil-Delgado, Jose Ignacio Canudo, Angel Galobart
Summary: This article describes a new titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur, Abditosaurus kuehnei, found in Late Cretaceous Spain. It is placed in a clade separate from other European titanosaurs, grouped with South American and African saltasaurines. The co-occurrence with Gondwanan titanosaurian species in southern Europe suggests a connection with southern landmasses. The size and osteohistological features support the idea that Abditosaurus belongs to an immigrant lineage distinct from European island dwarfs. The study hypothesizes that Abditosaurus arrived in the Ibero-Armorican Island during the earliest Maastrichtian as a result of a sea-level drop between Africa and Europe.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Min Wang, Thomas A. Stidham, Zhiheng Li, Xing Xu, Zhonghe Zhou
Summary: The study describes a new enantiornithine bird from the Early Cretaceous in China, revealing the components of cranial kinesis and highlighting the highly modular and mosaic evolution of avialan skulls. Early birds not only had major innovations in their locomotor system, but also evolved highly derived skulls.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Geology
Katrina Mayo, Ricardo L. Silva, Paul R. Durkin
Summary: This study refines the paleoenvironmental reconstructions of Late Cretaceous rivers through facies and facies associations analysis, meander-belt architecture characterization, and paleohydraulic parameter calculations. The results demonstrate that the meander-belt deposits of the Dinosaur Park Formation were deposited in a fluvial environment upstream of the fluvial-marine transition zone, changing our understanding of the paleogeography of the Western Interior Seaway in western Canada. This study contributes to the validation and development of a systematic approach to the paleoenvironmental reconstruction of ancient river systems based on paleohydraulic analysis.
SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Harsha Dhiman, Vishal Verma, Lourembam R. Singh, Vaibhav Miglani, Deepak Kumar Jha, Prasanta Sanyal, Sampat K. Tandon, Guntupalli V. R. Prasad
Summary: The Upper Cretaceous Lameta Formation in central India is known for its abundant sauropod fossils and egg remains. A new study has documented ninety-two titanosaur clutches from the Dhar District, providing valuable quantitative data for understanding titanosaur palaeobiology and egg preservation. The study identified 256 eggs and three types of clutch patterns, suggesting a high oospecies diversity and providing insights into the reproductive biology of titanosaurs. The lithologies of the egg-bearing rocks indicate a fluvial/alluvial setting, and the presence of certain fabric structures suggests a palustrine depositional condition.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Andres Santos-Cubedo, Carlos de Santisteban, Begona Poza, Sergi Meseguer
Summary: A new spinosaurid genus and species, Protathlitis cinctorrensis gen. et sp. nov., is described based on fossil remains from the Arcillas de Morella Formation in Spain. This discovery reveals a previously unknown diversity of medium-to-large bodied spinosaurid dinosaurs in the Iberian Peninsula during the Early Cretaceous. It also suggests that spinosaurids appeared in Laurasia and later migrated to Africa and Asia where they diversified.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Oscar Castillo-Visa, Angel H. Lujan, Angel Galobart, Albert Selles
Summary: This study describes a new large marine turtle fossil, Leviathanochelys aenigmatica, which is likely to be as large as Archelon. The large body size of this species may have evolved to adapt to the unique habitat conditions of the European Cretaceous archipelago seas. Anatomical and histological evidence support the hypothesis that this species had an open marine pelagic lifestyle.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ross N. Mitchell, Christopher J. Thissen, David A. D. Evans, Sarah P. Slotznick, Rodolfo Coccioni, Toshitsugu Yamazaki, Joseph L. Kirschvink
Summary: A new high-resolution paleomagnetic record from two overlapping stratigraphic sections in Italy provides evidence for a 12-degree true polar wander oscillation from 86 to 78 million years ago, with the greatest excursion at 84-82 million years ago. This challenges the notion of the spin axis being largely stable over the past 100 million years and represents the most recent large-scale TPW documented.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Diandian Peng, Lijun Liu, Yaoyi Wang
Summary: The study evaluates the presence of a flat slab beneath East Asia during the Late Cretaceous, showing its correlation with the pre-Cretaceous subduction history along the western Pacific and Tethyan trenches. The physical model explains the thinning of the East Asian lithosphere.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kohei Tanaka, Otabek Ulugbek Ogli Anvarov, Darla K. Zelenitsky, Akhmadjon Shayakubovich Ahmedshaev, Yoshitsugu Kobayashi
Summary: This study describes a new Late Cretaceous carcharodontosaurian from Central Asia, representing the first record of such a species in the region. The newly discovered Ulughbegsaurus is estimated to have been 7.5-8 meters in body length and over 1000 kg in body mass, serving as the previously unrecognized apex predator in the Bissekty ecosystem. The findings demonstrate the latest stratigraphic co-occurrence of carcharodontosaurids and tyrannosauroids in Laurasia, supporting the dominance of carcharodontosaurians over tyrannosauroids in Asia at least up to the Turonian period.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Paleontology
Harsha Dhiman, Suryendu Dutta, Sumit Kumar, Vishal Verma, Guntupalli V. R. Prasad
Summary: This study presents evidence for the preservation of proteinaceous moieties in dinosaur eggshell and suggests that nitrogen-bearing macromolecules can survive in Mesozoic fossil remains under certain conditions. This opens up a new avenue of research into soft tissue preservation.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jianping Zhou, Istvan Dunkl, Yongjiang Liu, Weimin Li, Hilmar von Eynatten
Summary: This study evaluates and investigates the thermal evolution of basins and basement horsts in the eastern area of the Songliao basin, NE China. By utilizing low-T thermochronology and thermal modelling, the research reveals the post Jurassic thermal history of the basement highs and the basin remnants. The results show that the basement highs are younger than the Early Cretaceous sedimentary record in the satellite basins, and the major basin inversion caused significant erosion. Additionally, the study suggests the formation of a single down-warped basin in the Early Cretaceous, followed by gradual exhumation and erosion of the sedimentary cover.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jian Zhang, Sascha Floegel, Yongyun Hu, Anni Zhao, Runjian Chu, Chenguang Zhu, Chengshan Wang
Summary: The East Asian coastal mountains played a significant role in amplifying the influence of orbital forcing and solar insolation on East Asian climate during the Cretaceous period.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Nicolas R. Chimento, Federico L. L. Agnolin, Makoto Manabe, Takanobu Tsuihiji, Thomas H. H. Rich, Patricia Vickers-Rich, Fernando E. E. Novas
Summary: A tooth from the Late Cretaceous in Argentina suggests the presence of monotremes in South America at the end of the Mesozoic Era. Monotremata, a group of egg-laying mammals represented by the platypus and echidnas, is endemic to Australia and nearby islands. The discovery of a Late Cretaceous monotreme in southern Argentina indicates their presence in circumpolar regions and suggests that their distinctive anatomical features were already present in ancient forms.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geology
Marton Szabo, Jorg U. Hammel, Danilo Harms, Ulrich Kotthoff, Emese Bodor, Janos Novak, Kristof Kovacs, Attila Osi
Summary: This article describes an adult male Hersiliidae spider from Hungary, proposing a new genus and species name for it. The unique characteristics of this new taxon distinguish it from other Mesozoic and fossil and Recent European representatives of the Hersiliidae family.
CRETACEOUS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Geology
Marton Szabo, Manuel Brazidec, Vincent Perrichot, Imre Szenti, Akos Kukovecz, Attila Osi
Summary: This paper describes three new species of wasps from the recently re-discovered ajkaite amber in Hungary, providing valuable information for understanding the fossil record of the Cretaceous period.
CRETACEOUS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Emma M. Dunne, Alexander Farnsworth, Roger B. J. Benson, Pedro L. Godoy, Sarah E. Greene, Paul J. Valdes, Daniel J. Lunt, Richard J. Butler
Summary: The rise of dinosaurs as dominant components in terrestrial ecosystems was a significant event in the history of life. The drivers of their early evolution and diversity, however, remain poorly understood. This study suggests that the expansion of dinosaurs' distribution and abundance may have been driven by both opportunistic factors, such as the extinction of co-occurring species, and changes in global climatic distributions during the Triassic to Jurassic transition.
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Edina Prondvai, Richard J. J. Butler
Summary: Radial porosity profiles (RPP) are a new parameter in osteohistology that capture the changes in limb bone porosity through development, revealing insights into skeletal growth and functional development in vertebrates. This study investigates RPPs in pheasants, pigeons, and ducks, and finds that RPP channelization correlates with drastic locomotor transitions in volant birds. The study also suggests that RPPs can be used in paleobiology to study the ontogeny and evolution of flight in fossil birds and pterosaurs.
JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Kirsty M. M. Edgar, Lewis Haller, Daniel D. D. Cashmore, Emma M. M. Dunne, Richard J. J. Butler
Summary: Dinosaur tracks are an important tool for understanding the ecology and distribution of dinosaurs. The UK has a rich history of dinosaur track discoveries, and this new dataset shows a close correlation between the distribution of sediments and the preservation of dinosaur tracks. The track record reveals similar patterns to the body fossil record, but also provides unique insights into dinosaur communities and shows a trend towards higher numbers of tracks over time.
JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Gemma Louise Benevento, Roger B. J. Benson, Roger A. Close, Richard J. Butler
Summary: The extinction of non-avian dinosaurs led to the diversification of placental mammals, with increases in diversity observed in all body size classes. Small-bodied mammals experienced similar diversity increases to larger species, likely due to greater access to resources and finer resource partitioning. The extinctions and ecological changes during the Late Cretaceous and across the K/Pg boundary contributed to this diversification.
Article
Geology
Kirsty M. Edgar, Luke E. Meade, Harry T. Jones, Lewis Haller, Sam Scriven, Christopher Reedman, Richard J. Butler
Summary: Spyway Quarry in Dorset is the largest easily accessible UK dinosaur tracksite, with over 100 tracks made by sauropod dinosaurs. The trackway surface has undergone changes over time due to natural processes, resulting in the reduction of track prominence. Visitor data indicates an annual visitation of approximately 10,000 people, with potential improvements suggested for visitor directions and information. Our study emphasizes the importance of using 3D imaging techniques for documenting and preserving site legacies.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION
(2023)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Molly J. Fawcett, Stephan Lautenschlager, Jordan Bestwick, Richard J. Butler
Summary: This study used finite element analysis to compare the functional morphology of basal pseudosuchian archosaurs with the stress distribution of post-Triassic theropod dinosaurs. The results showed some degree of functional convergence, but also revealed that the basal loricatan Saurosuchus had a weaker bite force and likely consumed softer parts of carcasses. This finding highlights the functional diversity of basal pseudosuchians and the functional differences between Triassic and post-Triassic apex predators.
ANATOMICAL RECORD-ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Richard J. Butler, Luke E. Meade, Terri J. Cleary, Kai T. Mcwhirter, Emily E. Brown, Tom S. Kemp, Juan Benito, Nicholas C. Fraser
Summary: The fissure fill localities in southwest England and South Wales have yielded diverse small-bodied tetrapod assemblages from the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic period. However, the age of the fissures and the origin of these assemblages are still debated. A new species of procolophonid, named Hwiccewyrm trispiculum gen. et sp. nov., has been discovered in the Cromhall fissure. This species shares similarities with Late Triassic procolophonids from Scotland, Brazil, and North America, but also has unique characteristics.
ANATOMICAL RECORD-ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Davide Foffa, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Richard J. Butler, Stephen L. Brusatte, Stig Walsh, Nicholas C. Fraser, Paul M. Barrett
Summary: Scleromochlus taylori, a reptile from the Lossiemouth Sandstone Formation in Scotland, has been the subject of much debate due to the poor preservation of its fossils. Using microcomputed tomographic techniques, this study provides a detailed description of the animal's anatomy and highlights previously unknown features. The findings reveal that Scleromochlus taylori retains primitive characteristics of archosaurs, while also showing similarities to pterosauromorphs, shedding light on the origin of pterosaurs.
ANATOMICAL RECORD-ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ahmed Oussou, Peter L. Falkingham, Richard J. Butler, Khadija Boumir, Driss Ouarhache, Kawtar Ech-charay, Andre Charriere, Susannah C. R. Maidment
Summary: In addition to bone fossils, fossil tracks and trackways provide valuable insights into dinosaur paleobiology. This article reports on three new tracksites from the Imilchil area in Morocco, which contain tracks made by different types of dinosaurs, including sauropods, theropods, ornithopods, and potentially bird-like non-avian theropods. The authors also created three-dimensional digital models of the track sites using photogrammetry. These new tracksites contribute to our understanding of dinosaur-substrate interactions and enrich the existing record of faunal ichnoassemblages in the High Atlas Mountains and North Africa.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Martin D. Ezcurra, Saswati Bandyopadhyay, Dhurjati P. Sengupta, Kasturi Sen, Andrey G. Sennikov, Roland B. Sookias, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Richard J. Butler
Summary: Proterosuchidae represents the earliest significant diversification of Archosauromorpha and is crucial in understanding the recovery of life after the end-Permian mass extinction. Recent revisions have confirmed the presence of new Proterosuchidae species, including Samsarasuchus pamelae, in the Panchet Formation in India, expanding the taxonomic diversity of Proterosuchidae.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Emma M. Dunne, Samuel E. D. Thompson, Richard J. Butler, James Rosindell, Roger A. Close
Summary: A spatially explicit mechanistic model based on neutral theory is used to explain the changes in apparent diversity in the fossil record of the late Carboniferous and early Permian, which are caused by variation in sampling intensity through time.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Davide Foffa, Sterling J. J. Nesbitt, Ben T. T. Kligman, Richard J. J. Butler, Michelle R. R. Stocker
Summary: Anisodontosaurus greeri is a small-bodied tetrapod with a heterodont dentition from the Middle Triassic. Its evolutionary relationships have been uncertain, but new data from micro-computed tomography scans suggest that it belongs to the archosauromorph clade Trilophosauridae. Comparison with other trilophosaurids reveals similarities with Variodens inopinatus, and cladistic analyses confirm the existence of two distinct lineages within Trilophosauridae. These findings have important implications for our understanding of the early evolution and distribution of trilophosaurids.
JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Marton Szabo, Peter Szabo, Peter Kobor, Attila Osi
Summary: Cockroaches from different amber localities worldwide, including both extinct and extant families, were studied. The discovery of Alienopterix santonicus sp. n. in Late Cretaceous amber extends the geographical distribution of the extinct cockroach family Alienopteridae to Laurasia during the Mesozoic. This species, known for its microrectangular structures and disruptive body pattern, may have had a metallic coloration and served as an important pollinator in the Ajka Coal ecosystem.