Article
Geography, Physical
Josephina Hartung, Felix J. Augustin, Panagiotis Kampouridis, Daniel J. Chure
Summary: This study describes a new trace fossil assemblage from the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation in the southwest USA, revealing support for rheotaxis behavior in notostracan crustaceans and indicating they lived in an environment dominated by sheet-flow events in ephemeral river systems.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Sterling J. Nesbitt, Hans-Dieter Sues
Summary: The paper provides a detailed description of the unique early-diverging dinosaur Daemonosaurus chauliodus from northern New Mexico, USA. The taxon is believed to be at the base of dinosaurs and its unusual mix of character states has implications for character evolution in early dinosaurs.
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2021)
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
Andrew T. McDonald, Douglas G. Wolfe, Elizabeth A. Freedman Fowler, Terry A. Gates
Summary: Brachylophosaurini is a clade of hadrosaurid dinosaurs from the Campanian of western North America. Ornatops incantatus is a newly described brachylophosaurin from New Mexico, representing the southernmost occurrence of the clade with unique nasal-frontal suture morphology. A phylogenetic analysis places Ornatops in a trichotomy with Probrachylophosaurus and Brachylophosaurus.
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
Evolutionary Biology
Rodrigo Temp Mueller, Mauricio Silva Garcia, Andre de Oliveira Fonseca
Summary: This study describes a new proterochampsid with a well-preserved hind limb, which contributes to the understanding of the hind limb anatomy of this group. The new taxon exhibits unique traits that provide insights into the evolutionary origins of certain muscle attachment structures. The specimen suggests that some archosaurian features evolved earlier than previously thought, shedding light on the evolutionary context of Archosauria.
JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Guilherme Bozetti, Xiangbo Li, Zhanlong Yang, Huaqing Liu, Junping Huang, Zhiyong Li, Jingping Xu
Summary: Deep-lacustrine systems have been less studied compared to marine systems due to the scarcity of large and continuous outcrops globally. This study examines outcrops and cores from the Ordos Basin in China, revealing the presence of deep-lacustrine slope channels and levee deposits composed of interbedded sandstones and mudstones. The re-interpretation of sandstone-prone deposits in the Yanchang Formation provides insights into the architectural elements in intracratonic lacustrine basins, with implications for hydrocarbon exploration and production.
JOURNAL OF ASIAN EARTH SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Celina A. Suarez, Joseph Frederickson, Richard L. Cifelli, Jeffrey G. Pittman, Randall L. Nydam, Rebecca K. Hunt-Foster, Kirsty Morgan
Summary: The vertebrate fauna from the Holly Creek Formation in Arkansas represents a late Early Cretaceous ecosystem dominated by semi-aquatic forms. It is similar to other late Early Cretaceous assemblages in North America, suggesting a low-diversity, broadly distributed continental ecosystem during this period. This contrasts sharply with the highly diverse ecosystem that emerged by the Cenomanian, highlighting the impact of vicariance driven by Sevier tectonics and climatic changes during the early Late Cretaceous.
Article
Paleontology
Victor Lopez-Rojas, Lars B. B. Clemmensen, Jesper Milan, Oliver Wings, Nicole Klein, Octavio Mateus
Summary: In this study, phytosaurs from the Upper Triassic Malmros Klint Formation in central East Greenland are described. The fossils consist of more than 150 disarticulated bones and teeth from at least four individuals, representing a new species of Mystriosuchus. Histological analysis of one specimen's humerus suggests that it was close to somatic maturity. The findings support the idea of European faunal influence in East Greenland during the Late Triassic.
JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Benjamin F. Mohler, Andrew T. McDonald, Douglas G. Wolfe
Summary: Deinosuchus, a neosuchian animal, has been discovered in the Campanian formations in North America, with fossils found from New Jersey to Montana in the USA and as far south as Coahuila in Mexico. Fossils of Deinosuchus found in the Menefee Formation in New Mexico represent one of the earliest occurrences of this genus on the Laramidian subcontinent, with distinctively morphological osteoderms bearing similarities to those of Deinosuchus.
Article
Paleontology
Adam D. Marsh, William G. Parker, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Ben T. Kligman, Michelle R. Stocker
Summary: Non-archosaur archosauromorphs, including a newly discovered malerisaurine azendohsaurid named Puercosuchus traverorum, were important members of the global Middle and Late Triassic continental ecosystems. This finding is significant for understanding the diversity of azendohsaurids during the middle and late Triassic periods.
JOURNAL OF PALEONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Wei Wang, Stephan N. F. Spiekman, Lijun Zhao, Olivier Rieppel, Torsten M. Scheyer, Nicholas C. Fraser, Chun Li
Summary: This study reports a newly discovered early diverging archosauromorph, Gracilicollum latens, which has a long neck comprising at least 18 cervical vertebrae. It is likely an aquatic piscivore, similar to Dinocephalosaurus and Tanystropheus hydroides. The research reveals the complex and mosaic nature of cervical evolution in dinocephalosaurids and tanystropheids.
ANATOMICAL RECORD-ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geology
Oliver A. Lopez-Conde, Adan Perez-Garcia, Maria L. Chavarria-Arellano, Jesus Alvarado-Ortega
Summary: This paper describes the discovery of the first Bothremydini from Mexico, introducing a new representative species, Palauchelys montellanoi gen. et sp. nov., thus expanding knowledge about the diversity of this group in the American Cretaceous record.
CRETACEOUS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
William G. Parker, William A. Reyes, Adam D. Marsh
Summary: This study examines the maximum body size of pseudosuchian archosaurs and investigates the factors influencing body size. Through the analysis of a newly discovered large specimen, it is found that the specimen has a large body size but has not yet reached skeletal maturity, which differs from smaller specimens. Furthermore, the study suggests that neurocentral suture co-ossification may be correlated with skeletal maturity in aetosaurs, while body size may not be congruent with skeletal maturity.
ANATOMICAL RECORD-ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Aaron J. Martin, Mireia Domenech, Daniel F. Stockli, David Gomez-Gras
Summary: The Upper Triassic to lowest Upper Jurassic strata in north-eastern Mexico record surface processes during the early rifting that led to the opening of the Gulf of Mexico. This study uses detrital zircon U-Pb ages and clast compositions to constrain depositional ages and reconstruct tectonic setting and provenance, indicating deposition in partitioned rift basins receiving sediment from local sources within a distance of approximately 100 km. These data contribute to understanding surface processes during the initial rifting that eventually led to the opening of the Gulf of Mexico.