Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Russell K. Engelman, Darin A. Croft
Summary: The late Cenozoic rocks in Catamarca Province, Argentina have yielded a diverse record of carnivorous metatherians. A new carnivorous metatherian specimen, FMNH P15230, was discovered and exhibits features that suggest it represents a small sparassodont or a carnivorous didelphid. The discovery of this specimen contributes to the understanding of the decline of sparassodonts during the late Cenozoic.
JOURNAL OF SOUTH AMERICAN EARTH SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Zoology
Maria Alejandra Abello, Gabriel M. Martin, Yamila Cardoso
Summary: The systematic review of extinct species in the family Caenolestidae reveals it as a monophyletic group with three new taxa recognized. Stilotherium is the earliest diverging lineage, with C. miocaenicus being the extinct species most closely related to extant caenolestids.
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Paleontology
Narla S. Stutz, Patricia Hadler, Francisco R. Negri, Laurent Marivaux, Pierre-Olivier Antoine, Francois Pujos, Tiago R. Jaco, Emmanuelle M. Fontoura, Leonardo Kerber, Annie S. Hsiou, Roberto ventura Santos, Andre M. V. Alvim, Ana Maria Ribeiro
Summary: The Amazonian region has significant biodiversity, but its history, especially regarding marsupials, is still largely unknown. Recent paleontological field efforts in Northwestern Brazil have led to the discovery of fossil marsupial teeth, providing new insights into the ancient fauna of the area.
ACTA PALAEONTOLOGICA POLONICA
(2023)
Article
Biology
Charlene Gaillard, Ross D. E. MacPhee, Analia M. Forasiepi
Summary: The unique orientation of the orbits in the extinct sabertooth Thylacosmilus atrox allowed for binocular depth perception, despite its cranium evolving for enlarged canines. The study of mammalian vision is difficult due to the lack of preserved eyes in the fossil record. However, orbital orientation and size can provide insights on ocular function. In Thylacosmilus, the bony orbits were divergent, unlike any other known mammalian predator, but frontation and verticality of the orbits compensated for limited convergence in orbital orientation and favored some degree of stereopsis.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Laura Chornogubsky
Summary: Polydolopidae is a family of Palaeogene marsupials found in outcrops in southern South America and the Antarctic Peninsula. Through taxonomic revision and phylogenetic analysis, new genera and species within the family have been identified. The family appeared in the early Palaeocene and went extinct during the Early Oligocene, possibly due to climatic deterioration.
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sergio Daniel Tarquini, Sandrine Ladeveze, Francisco Juan Prevosti
Summary: Sparassodonts were apex mammalian predators in South America during most of the Cenozoic, with their extinction attributed to factors such as competition with other predators, prey extinction, and climate change. Analysis reveals that their speciation and extinction rates were influenced by various biotic and abiotic factors, demonstrating a multilevel mixed model of evolution. The study emphasizes the need to test the effect of competition and proposes a novel approach for evaluating the fossil record in macroevolutionary analyses.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Christian de Muizon, Sandrine Ladeveze
Summary: This paper describes a partial skull of Incadelphys antiquus from Tiupampa, comparing its characteristics with other taxa and conducting a phylogenetic analysis to determine its evolutionary relationship.
Article
Surgery
Morgan E. Jackson, Erica K. Ludi, Alexandra C. W. Reitz, Gustavo Moraes dos Santos, Irene B. Helenowski, Lucy Lopez Quiroga, J. Esteban Foianini, Mamta Swaroop
Summary: The TRUE-Bolivia trauma first responder course was found to be effective in improving participant confidence in first responder abilities and increasing knowledge of trauma response skills. Participants from various backgrounds showed improvements in confidence and knowledge after completing the course.
JOURNAL OF SURGICAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Jyothi Thittamranahalli Kariyappa, Simone Zanoni, Andre Bongers, Lydia Tong, Ken W. S. Ashwell
Summary: The study mapped brain regions and connections in a diprotodontid marsupial using high-field microstructural MRI. They identified new cortical connectivity patterns and emphasized the importance of these findings for understanding mammalian brain evolution.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Norberto P. Giannini, Miriam M. Morales, Laura A. B. Wilson, Paul M. Velazco, Fernando Abdala, David A. Flores
Summary: Marsupials are a major representation of mammalian diversification, confined geographically to the Americas and Australasia. Their cranial morphospace is influenced by size, shape trends, and evolutionary convergence, showing marked patterns of ecological and phylogenetic structuring. While some groups exhibit convergence, others show remarkable evolutionary divergence, with varying rates of evolution across different forms. Extinct forms are expected to fill in space voids and potentially increase intra- and intercontinental convergence.
JOURNAL OF MAMMALIAN EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
C. C. Rangel, L. M. Carneiro, E. V. Oliveira
Summary: The Itaborai fauna has preserved two of the oldest known sparassodonts in South America, Patene simpsoni and Nemolestes brasiliensis. This article presents new fossil evidence of Nemolestes brasiliensis and assigns it to a new genus, Silvenator. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Silvenator is closely related to the thylacinid Badjcinus and, to a lesser extent, Allqokirus. This study further supports the hypothesis that the Itaborai fauna only contains early lineages of sparassodonts.
JOURNAL OF SOUTH AMERICAN EARTH SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Russell K. Engelman, Darin A. Croft
Summary: The study utilized geometric morphometrics to analyze the first three upper molars of the metatherian clade Sparassodonta, finding that isolated teeth can be classified to locus using linear discriminant analysis. By identifying specific morphological features, it is possible to distinguish different tooth loci, aiding scientists in research and comparisons.
PALAEONTOLOGIA ELECTRONICA
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Calum J. McKay, W. Patrick Luckett, Marcelo R. Sanchez-Villagra
Summary: This study thoroughly documented the dental development of pouch young Caluromys philander by studying a developmental series of ten individuals and using histological sections and 3D models. The study found that the successor P3 arises from a lingual successional lamina from its predecessor dP3, and the germs of vestigial deciduous incisors and canines are present alongside their permanent successors. These discoveries show unexpected diversity of dental ontogeny and highlight differences from previous studies on Didelphis and Monodelphis.
JOURNAL OF MAMMALIAN EVOLUTION
(2023)
Letter
Immunology
Roxana Loayza Mafayle, Maria E. Morales-Betoulle, Shannon Whitmer, Caitlin Cossaboom, Jimmy Revollo, Nelly Mendoza Loayza, Hilary Aguilera Mendez, Joel Alejandro Chuquimia Valdez, Freddy Armijo Subieta, Maya Xochitl Espinoza Morales, Maria Valeria Canedo Sanchez, Miriam Eugenia Romero Romero, Aaron C. Brault, Holly R. Hugues, Jairo Mendez-Rico, Jason H. Malenfant, Trevor Shoemaker, John D. Klena, Joel M. Montgomery, Jhonatan David Marquina Salas
Summary: In May 2021, an agricultural worker from Tre-mentinal, Argentina sought treatment for a febrile illness in Tarija, Bolivia. The patient tested negative for hantavirus RNA, but next-generation sequencing of a serum sample revealed the complete genome of Rio Negro virus.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Alexandria L. Brannick, Henry Z. Fulghum, David M. Grossnickle, Gregory P. Wilson Mantilla
Summary: This study used dental topographic analysis to predict metatherian diets in the Late Cretaceous period and found that dental morphology and dietary diversity did not change significantly during this time. Most metatherians were invertivorous, but occupied a wide range of dietary niches, making them the most dietarily diverse mammalian clade of the Late Cretaceous.
PALAEONTOLOGIA ELECTRONICA
(2023)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Russell K. Engelman, Federico Anaya, Darin A. Croft
JOURNAL OF MAMMALIAN EVOLUTION
(2020)
Article
Paleontology
Darin A. Croft, Federico Anaya
Article
Paleontology
Andrew J. McGrath, Federico Anaya, Darin A. Croft
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Darin A. Croft, Malena Lorente
Summary: This study analyzed limb elongation in South American ungulate-like mammals and found that neither notoungulates nor litopterns showed a pronounced trend of limb elongation, except for proterotheriid litopterns. The results suggest that the macroevolutionary trend of limb elongation in ungulate-like mammals is not universal and is highly influenced by the evolutionary affinities of the groups being analyzed.
Article
Biology
Russell K. Engelman
Summary: This study finds that the occipital condyle width (OCW) can accurately estimate the body mass of mammals, especially species with relatively large heads. Compared to traditional measurement metrics, OCW has higher model accuracy and can be used without close living analogues, providing a reliable method for estimating body mass in previously problematic groups.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Fernando A. Perini, Thomas E. Macrini, John J. Flynn, Kanvaly Bamba, Xijun Ni, Darin A. Croft, Andre R. Wyss
Summary: By analyzing endocranial data from notoungulates in a phylogenetic framework, this study sheds light on important evolutionary issues and enhances our understanding of their phylogenetic relationships.
JOURNAL OF MAMMALIAN EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Darin A. Croft, John J. Flynn, Andre R. Wyss, Reynaldo Charrier, Federico Anaya
Summary: This study describes the first Neogene remains of Pan-Chinchillinae, including the new genus Miochinchilla, which differs from extant chinchillines. The discovery significantly adds to the morphological diversity of chinchillid rodents and is mainly found in the central Andes region.
JOURNAL OF MAMMALIAN EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biology
Marcos Fernandez-Monescillo, Darin A. Croft, Francois Pujos, Pierre-Olivier Antoine
Summary: This study presents systematic conclusions on the taxonomic history and ontogenetic variation of the Mesotherium cristatum, a key taxon in the Early-Middle Pleistocene period. Through critical analyses, it is found that the variation among different purported mesotheriine taxa is actually consistent with intraspecific and ontogenetic variation within a single species, M. cristatum. This research puts an end to the misidentification and complex taxonomic history of this species, providing a better understanding of the taxonomic group.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Russell K. Engelman
Summary: This study estimates the body mass of large, extinct rodents using occipital condyle width and finds that previous estimates were widely controversial and inaccurate.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Andrew J. McGrath, John J. Flynn, Darin A. Croft, Jennifer Chick, Holly E. Dodson, Andre R. Wyss
Summary: Pampa Castillo in southern Chile is a newly discovered Lower Miocene site with diverse octodontoids. The octodontoids from Pampa Castillo are consistent with the Santacrucian fauna and show similarities to both Pinturan and typical Santacrucian faunas.
PAPERS IN PALAEONTOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Russell K. Engelman
Summary: Dunkleosteus terrelli is a large early apex predator with an uncertain body size. Using a new metric and a large dataset, the author estimates the body size of D. terrelli and finds that it is smaller than previous studies have suggested.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Allison Nelson, Russell K. Engelman, Darin A. Croft
Summary: This study uses a new dataset to estimate the body mass of extinct South American herbivorous mammals, and finds discrepancies with previous studies, which are primarily due to the unique craniodental morphology of these animals. Therefore, new methods are needed to account for these differences in body mass inference.
JOURNAL OF MAMMALIAN EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Daniel Barasoain, Darin A. Croft, Alfredo E. Zurita, Victor H. Contreras, Rodrigo L. Tomassini
Summary: Peltephilidae is an ancient lineage of medium-large-sized 'armadillos' from South America. The newest record of this group is found from the Late Miocene, and the decline of Peltephilidae coincides with the replacement of subtropical/tropical environments by more open and arid ones. The inclusion of E. kanti within Epipeltephilus is supported for the first time through a cladistic analysis.
PAPERS IN PALAEONTOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Marcos Fernandez-Monescillo, Pierre-Olivier Antoine, Darin A. Croft, Francois Pujos
Summary: Taxonomy of mesotheriids in Monte Hermoso, Buenos Aires province, Argentina is complicated, especially regarding the Late Miocene-Pliocene species Pseudotypotherium pulchrum and P. exiguum. There has been confusion due to intraspecific variation of P. exiguum and the inclusion of Pleistocene taxon Mesotherium cristatum. In this study, we conducted a thorough analysis of type materials and compared molar size and i1 ontogenetic variation to determine that Pseudotypotherium exiguum is the valid senior synonym for Monte Hermoso mesotheriids. We provide a detailed diagnosis and description of P. exiguum, including the first ontogenetic series for any species of Pseudotypotherium.
JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Russell K. Engelman, John J. Flynn, Andre R. Wyss, Darin A. Croft
AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES
(2020)
