1
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So C, Kufner AM, Pardo JD, Edwards CL, Price BR, Bevitt JJ, LeClair-Diaz A, St. Clair L, Mann J, Teran R, Lovelace DM. Fossil amphibian offers insights into the interplay between monsoons and amphibian evolution in palaeoequatorial Late Triassic systems. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20241041. [PMID: 39471852 PMCID: PMC11521612 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.1041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2024] [Revised: 08/30/2024] [Accepted: 09/12/2024] [Indexed: 11/01/2024] Open
Abstract
The severe greenhouse climate and seasonality of the early to mid-Late Triassic are thought to have limited terrestrial diversity at lower latitudes, but direct adaptations to these harsh conditions remain limited in vertebrates at the palaeoequator. Here, we present Ninumbeehan dookoodukah gen. et sp. nov., an early amphibian with specialized adaptations for seasonal estivation from the upper Jelm Formation of the Late Triassic of Wyoming, USA. Ninumbeehan are found in an association of vertebrate estivation burrows across a locally dense horizon, offering insights into the evolution and ecology of vertebrates amid the challenging conditions of low-latitude Late Triassic ecosystems. Estivation chambers were excavated within point bar deposits of an ephemeral river system, recording the cyclical signature of Triassic megamonsoons and documenting a vertebrate response to annual climate extremes across tens to hundreds of seasons. Phylogenetic analysis recovers Ninumbeehan within a group of temnospondyls characterized by fossorial adaptation, underscoring the widespread adoption of burrowing and estivation in total group Lissamphibia. Ninumbeehan hints at the pivotal role seasonal dynamics played in shaping amphibian evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Calvin So
- Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Aaron M. Kufner
- Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- University of Wisconsin Geology Museum, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jason D. Pardo
- Negaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Caian L. Edwards
- Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
- University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Brandon R. Price
- University of Wisconsin Geology Museum, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Joseph J. Bevitt
- Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Amanda LeClair-Diaz
- Fort Washakie Schools, Fremont County School District #21, 90 Ethete Road, Fort Washakie, WY82514, USA
| | - Lynette St. Clair
- Fort Washakie Schools, Fremont County School District #21, 90 Ethete Road, Fort Washakie, WY82514, USA
| | - Josh Mann
- Eastern Shoshone Tribal Historic Preservation Office, Building 17A, North Fork Road, Fort Washakie, WY82514, USA
| | - Reba Teran
- Fort Washakie Schools, Fremont County School District #21, 90 Ethete Road, Fort Washakie, WY82514, USA
| | - David M. Lovelace
- Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- University of Wisconsin Geology Museum, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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2
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Marsicano CA, Pardo JD, Smith RMH, Mancuso AC, Gaetano LC, Mocke H. Giant stem tetrapod was apex predator in Gondwanan late Palaeozoic ice age. Nature 2024; 631:577-582. [PMID: 38961286 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07572-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Abstract
Current hypotheses of early tetrapod evolution posit close ecological and biogeographic ties to the extensive coal-producing wetlands of the Carboniferous palaeoequator with rapid replacement of archaic tetrapod groups by relatives of modern amniotes and lissamphibians in the late Carboniferous (about 307 million years ago). These hypotheses draw on a tetrapod fossil record that is almost entirely restricted to palaeoequatorial Pangea (Laurussia)1,2. Here we describe a new giant stem tetrapod, Gaiasia jennyae, from high-palaeolatitude (about 55° S) early Permian-aged (about 280 million years ago) deposits in Namibia that challenges this scenario. Gaiasia is represented by several large, semi-articulated skeletons characterized by a weakly ossified skull with a loosely articulated palate dominated by a broad diamond-shaped parasphenoid, a posteriorly projecting occiput, and enlarged, interlocking dentary and coronoid fangs. Phylogenetic analysis resolves Gaiasia within the tetrapod stem group as the sister taxon of the Carboniferous Colosteidae from Euramerica. Gaiasia is larger than all previously described digited stem tetrapods and provides evidence that continental tetrapods were well established in the cold-temperate latitudes of Gondwana during the final phases of the Carboniferous-Permian deglaciation. This points to a more global distribution of continental tetrapods during the Carboniferous-Permian transition and indicates that previous hypotheses of global tetrapod faunal turnover and dispersal at this time2,3 must be reconsidered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia A Marsicano
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, FCEN, Departamento de Cs. Geológicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- CONICET-UBA, Instituto de Estudios Andinos (IDEAN), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Jason D Pardo
- Negaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA.
| | - Roger M H Smith
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department Karoo Palaeontology, Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Adriana C Mancuso
- Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), CCT-Mendoza (CONICET), Mendoza, Argentina
| | - Leandro C Gaetano
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, FCEN, Departamento de Cs. Geológicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- CONICET-UBA, Instituto de Estudios Andinos (IDEAN), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Helke Mocke
- Geological Survey of Namibia, National Earth Science Museum, Windhoek, Namibia
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3
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Singh SA, Elsler A, Stubbs TL, Rayfield EJ, Benton MJ. Predatory synapsid ecomorphology signals growing dynamism of late Palaeozoic terrestrial ecosystems. Commun Biol 2024; 7:201. [PMID: 38368492 PMCID: PMC10874460 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-05879-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Terrestrial ecosystems evolved substantially through the Palaeozoic, especially the Permian, gaining much new complexity, especially among predators. Key among these predators were non-mammalian synapsids. Predator ecomorphology reflect interactions with prey and competitors, which are key controls on carnivore diversity and ecology. Therefore, carnivorous synapsids may offer insight on wider ecological evolution as the first complex, tetrapod-dominated, terrestrial ecosystems formed through the late Palaeozoic. Using morphometric and phylogenetic comparative methods, we chart carnivorous synapsid trophic morphology from the latest Carboniferous to the earliest Triassic (307-251.2 Ma). We find a major morphofunctional shift in synapsid carnivory between the early and middle Permian, via the addition of new feeding modes increasingly specialised for greater biting power or speed that captures the growing antagonism and dynamism of terrestrial tetrapod predator-prey interactions. The further evolution of new hypo- and hypercarnivorous synapsids highlight the nascent intrinsic pressures and complexification of terrestrial ecosystems across the mid-late Permian.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suresh A Singh
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK.
| | - Armin Elsler
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Thomas L Stubbs
- School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences, Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AE, UK
| | - Emily J Rayfield
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Michael J Benton
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
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4
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Wu F, Janvier P, Zhang C. The rise of predation in Jurassic lampreys. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6652. [PMID: 37907522 PMCID: PMC10618186 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42251-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Lampreys, one of two living lineages of jawless vertebrates, are always intriguing for their feeding behavior via the toothed suctorial disc and life cycle comprising the ammocoete, metamorphic, and adult stages. However, they left a meager fossil record, and their evolutionary history remains elusive. Here we report two superbly preserved large lampreys from the Middle-Late Jurassic Yanliao Biota of North China and update the interpretations of the evolution of the feeding apparatus, the life cycle, and the historic biogeography of the group. These fossil lampreys' extensively toothed feeding apparatus differs radically from that of their Paleozoic kin but surprisingly resembles the Southern Hemisphere pouched lamprey, which foreshadows an ancestral flesh-eating habit for modern lampreys. Based on the revised petromyzontiform timetree, we argued that modern lampreys' three-staged life cycle might not be established until the Jurassic when they evolved enhanced feeding structures, increased body size and encountered more penetrable host groups. Our study also places modern lampreys' origin in the Southern Hemisphere of the Late Cretaceous, followed by an early Cenozoic anti-tropical disjunction in distribution, hence challenging the conventional wisdom of their biogeographical pattern arising from a post-Cretaceous origin in the Northern Hemisphere or the Pangean fragmentation in the Early Mesozoic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feixiang Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of VertebratePaleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100044, Beijing, China.
| | - Philippe Janvier
- Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, UMR 7207, CP38, 8, rue Buffon 75231, Paris, Cedex 05, France
| | - Chi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of VertebratePaleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100044, Beijing, China.
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5
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Dunne EM, Thompson SED, Butler RJ, Rosindell J, Close RA. Mechanistic neutral models show that sampling biases drive the apparent explosion of early tetrapod diversity. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:1480-1489. [PMID: 37500908 PMCID: PMC10482683 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02128-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Estimates of deep-time biodiversity typically rely on statistical methods to mitigate the impacts of sampling biases in the fossil record. However, these methods are limited by the spatial and temporal scale of the underlying data. Here we use a spatially explicit mechanistic model, based on neutral theory, to test hypotheses of early tetrapod diversity change during the late Carboniferous and early Permian, critical intervals for the diversification of vertebrate life on land. Our simulations suggest that apparent increases in early tetrapod diversity were not driven by local endemism following the 'Carboniferous rainforest collapse'. Instead, changes in face-value diversity can be explained by variation in sampling intensity through time. Our results further demonstrate the importance of accounting for sampling biases in analyses of the fossil record and highlight the vast potential of mechanistic models, including neutral models, for testing hypotheses in palaeobiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma M Dunne
- GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany.
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
| | - Samuel E D Thompson
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Richard J Butler
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - James Rosindell
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Roger A Close
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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6
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Henderson S, Dunne EM, Fasey SA, Giles S. The early diversification of ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii): hypotheses, challenges and future prospects. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:284-315. [PMID: 36192821 PMCID: PMC10091770 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 09/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Actinopterygii makes up half of living vertebrate diversity, and study of fossil members during their Palaeozoic rise to dominance has a long history of descriptive work. Although research interest into Palaeozoic actinopterygians has increased in recent years, broader patterns of diversity and diversity dynamics remain critically understudied. Past studies have investigated macroevolutionary trends in Palaeozoic actinopterygians in a piecemeal fashion, variably using existing compendia of vertebrates or literature-based searches. Here, we present a comprehensive occurrence-based dataset of actinopterygians spanning the whole of the Palaeozoic. We use this to produce the first through-Palaeozoic trends in genus and species counts for Actinopterygii. Diversity through time generally tracks metrics for sampling, while major taxonomic problems pervading the Palaeozoic actinopterygian record obscure diversity trends. Many described species are concentrated in several particularly problematic 'waste-basket' genera, hiding considerable morphological and taxonomic diversity. This taxonomic confusion also feeds into a limited understanding of phylogenetic relationships. A heavy sampling bias towards Europe and North America exists in both occurrence databases and available phylogenetic matrices, with other regions underrepresented despite yielding important data. Scrutiny of the extent to which spatial biases influence the actinopterygian record is lacking, as is research on other forms of bias. Low richness in some time periods may be linked to geological biases, while the effects of taphonomic biases on Palaeozoic actinopterygians have not yet been investigated. Efforts are already underway both to redescribe poorly defined taxa and to describe taxa from underrepresented regions, helping to address taxonomic issues and accuracy of occurrence data. New methods of sampling standardisation utilising up-to-date occurrence databases will be critical in teasing apart biological changes in diversity and those resulting from bias. Lastly, continued phylogenetic work will enable the use of phylogenetic comparative methods to elucidate the origins of actinopterygian biogeography and subsequent patterns of radiation throughout their rise to dominate aquatic faunas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Struan Henderson
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Emma M Dunne
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.,GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Loewenichstraße 28, Erlangen, 91054, Germany
| | - Sophie A Fasey
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Sam Giles
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.,Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK
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7
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Discovery of the First Blattinopsids of the Genus Glaphyrophlebia Handlirsch, 1906 (Paoliida: Blattinopsidae) in the Upper Carboniferous of Southern France and Spain and Hypothesis on the Diversification of the Family. DIVERSITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/d14121129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Glaphyrophlebia victoiriensis sp. nov. (Paoliida: Blattinopsidae) is the third Gzhelian representative of the genus and is described based on a beautiful forewing from the Var department in Southern France. Together with the description of another forewing fragment of a Glaphyrophlebia sp. from the Province of León in NW Spain, they improve our knowledge of fossil insects from French and Spanish upper Carboniferous deposits. The specimen of Glaphyrophlebia sp. is the first mention of the family in the Carboniferous of Spain and extends the geographical distribution of the genus. These descriptions suggest that the genus Glaphyrophlebia was speciose during the Upper Pennsylvanian, while otherwise very diverse in the lower and middle Permian strata of the Russian Federation. We proposed the first hypothesis to explain the diversification of the family and of its most speciose genera and to argue that their diversity dynamics were likely linked with the major environmental changes that followed the collapse of the Carboniferous rainforest, notably the extension of arid biomes during the Permian period. The exquisite preservation and the fineness of the sediment from Tante Victoire, in which the new species was found, suggests that the locality is suitable for preserving other fossil insects and will require additional investigations.
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8
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Henderson S, Dunne EM, Giles S. Sampling biases obscure the early diversification of the largest living vertebrate group. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220916. [PMID: 36259213 PMCID: PMC9579763 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Extant ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii) dominate marine and freshwater environments, yet spatio-temporal diversity dynamics following their origin in the Palaeozoic are poorly understood. Previous studies investigate face-value patterns of richness, with only qualitative assessment of biases acting on the Palaeozoic actinopterygian fossil record. Here, we investigate palaeogeographic trends, reconstruct local richness and apply richness estimation techniques to a recently assembled occurrence database for Palaeozoic ray-finned fishes. We identify substantial fossil record biases, such as geographical bias in sampling centred around Europe and North America. Similarly, estimates of diversity are skewed by extreme unevenness in the occurrence distributions, reflecting historical biases in sampling and taxonomic practices, to the extent that evenness has an overriding effect on diversity estimates. Other than a genuine rise in diversity in the Tournaisian following the end-Devonian mass extinction, diversity estimates for Palaeozoic actinopterygians appear to lack biological signal, are heavily biased and are highly dependent on sampling. Increased sampling of poorly represented regions and expanding sampling beyond the literature to include museum collection data will be critical in obtaining accurate estimates of Palaeozoic actinopterygian diversity. In conjunction, applying diversity estimation techniques to well-sampled regional subsets of the 'global' dataset may identify accurate local diversity trends.
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Affiliation(s)
- Struan Henderson
- School of Geography Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Emma M Dunne
- School of Geography Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.,GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany
| | - Sam Giles
- School of Geography Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.,Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
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9
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Buatois LA, Davies NS, Gibling MR, Krapovickas V, Labandeira CC, MacNaughton RB, Mángano MG, Minter NJ, Shillito AP. The Invasion of the Land in Deep Time: Integrating Paleozoic Records of Paleobiology, Ichnology, Sedimentology, and Geomorphology. Integr Comp Biol 2022; 62:297-331. [PMID: 35640908 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icac059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The invasion of the land was a complex, protracted process, punctuated by mass extinctions, that involved multiple routes from marine environments. We integrate paleobiology, ichnology, sedimentology, and geomorphology to reconstruct Paleozoic terrestrialization. Cambrian landscapes were dominated by laterally mobile rivers with unstable banks in the absence of significant vegetation. Temporary incursions by arthropods and worm-like organisms into coastal environments apparently did not result in establishment of continental communities. Contemporaneous lacustrine faunas may have been inhibited by limited nutrient delivery and high sediment loads. The Ordovician appearance of early land plants triggered a shift in the primary locus of the global clay mineral factory, increasing the amount of mudrock on the continents. The Silurian-Devonian rise of vascular land plants, including the first forests and extensive root systems, was instrumental in further retaining fine sediment on alluvial plains. These innovations led to increased architectural complexity of braided and meandering rivers. Landscape changes were synchronous with establishment of freshwater and terrestrial arthropod faunas in overbank areas, abandoned fluvial channels, lake margins, ephemeral lakes, and inland deserts. Silurian-Devonian lakes experienced improved nutrient availability, due to increased phosphate weathering and terrestrial humic matter. All these changes favoured frequent invasions to permament establishment of jawless and jawed fishes in freshwater habitats and the subsequent tetrapod colonization of the land. The Carboniferous saw rapid diversification of tetrapods, mostly linked to aquatic reproduction, and land plants, including gymnosperms. Deeper root systems promoted further riverbank stabilization, contributing to the rise of anabranching rivers and braided systems with vegetated islands. New lineages of aquatic insects developed and expanded novel feeding modes, including herbivory. Late Paleozoic soils commonly contain pervasive root and millipede traces. Lacustrine animal communities diversified, accompanied by increased food-web complexity and improved food delivery which may have favored permanent colonization of offshore and deep-water lake environments. These trends continued in the Permian, but progressive aridification favored formation of hypersaline lakes, which were stressful for colonization. The Capitanian and end-Permian extinctions affected lacustrine and fluvial biotas, particularly the invertebrate infauna, although burrowing may have allowed some tetrapods to survive associated global warming and increased aridification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis A Buatois
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5E2, Canada
| | - Neil S Davies
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB2 3EQ, UK
| | - Martin R Gibling
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Verónica Krapovickas
- Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Intendente Güiraldes 2160, Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EGA, Argentina
| | - Conrad C Labandeira
- Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 20013-7012, USA.,Department of Entomology and BEES Program, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 21740, USA.,College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China
| | - Robert B MacNaughton
- Geological Survey of Canada (Calgary), Natural Resources Canada, Calgary, Alberta T2L 2A7, Canada
| | - M Gabriela Mángano
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5E2, Canada
| | - Nicholas J Minter
- School of the Environment, Geography, and Geosciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 3QL, UK
| | - Anthony P Shillito
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK
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10
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Gee BM. Returning to the roots: resolution, reproducibility, and robusticity in the phylogenetic inference of Dissorophidae (Amphibia: Temnospondyli). PeerJ 2021; 9:e12423. [PMID: 34820181 PMCID: PMC8582317 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The phylogenetic relationships of most Paleozoic tetrapod clades remain poorly resolved, which is variably attributed to a lack of study, the limitations of inference from phenotypic data, and constant revision of best practices. While refinement of phylogenetic methods continues to be important, any phylogenetic analysis is inherently constrained by the underlying dataset that it analyzes. Therefore, it becomes equally important to assess the accuracy of these datasets, especially when a select few are repeatedly propagated. While repeat analyses of these datasets may appear to constitute a working consensus, they are not in fact independent, and it becomes especially important to evaluate the accuracy of these datasets in order to assess whether a seeming consensus is robust. Here I address the phylogeny of the Dissorophidae, a speciose clade of Paleozoic temnospondyls. This group is an ideal case study among temnospondyls for exploring phylogenetic methods and datasets because it has been extensively studied (eight phylogenetic studies to date) but with most (six studies) using a single matrix that has been propagated with very little modification. In spite of the conserved nature of the matrix, dissorophid studies have produced anything but a conserved topology. Therefore, I analyzed an independently designed matrix, which recovered less resolution and some disparate nodes compared to previous studies. In order to reconcile these differences, I carefully examined previous matrices and analyses. While some differences are a matter of personal preference (e.g., analytical software), others relate to discrepancies with respect to what are currently considered as best practices. The most concerning discovery was the identification of pervasive dubious scorings that extend back to the origins of the widely propagated matrix. These include scores for skeletal features that are entirely unknown in a given taxon (e.g., postcrania in Cacops woehri) and characters for which there appear to be unstated working assumptions to scoring that are incompatible with the character definitions (e.g., scoring of taxa with incomplete skulls for characters based on skull length). Correction of these scores and other pervasive errors recovered a distinctly less resolved topology than previous studies, more in agreement with my own matrix. This suggests that previous analyses may have been compromised, and that the only real consensus of dissorophid phylogeny is the lack of one.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan M. Gee
- Burke Museum and Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America
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11
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Mann A, Calthorpe AS, Maddin HC. Joermungandr bolti, an exceptionally preserved 'microsaur' from the Mazon Creek Lagerstätte reveals patterns of integumentary evolution in Recumbirostra. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:210319. [PMID: 34295525 PMCID: PMC8292758 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
The Carboniferous Pennsylvanian-aged (309-307 Ma) Mazon Creek Lagerstätte produces some of the earliest fossils of major Palaeozoic tetrapod lineages. Recently, several new tetrapod specimens collected from Mazon Creek have come to light, including the earliest fossorially adapted recumbirostrans. Here, we describe a new long-bodied recumbirostran, Joermungandr bolti gen. et sp. nov., known from a single part and counterpart concretion bearing a virtually complete skeleton. Uniquely, Joermungandr preserves a full suite of dorsal, flank and ventral dermal scales, together with a series of thinned and reduced gastralia. Investigation of these scales using scanning electron microscopy reveals ultrastructural ridge and pit morphologies, revealing complexities comparable to the scale ultrastructure of extant snakes and fossorial reptiles, which have scales modified for body-based propulsion and shedding substrate. Our new taxon also represents an important early record of an elongate recumbirostran bauplan, wherein several features linked to fossoriality, including a characteristic recumbent snout, are present. We used parsimony phylogenetic methods to conduct phylogenetic analysis using the most recent recumbirostran-focused matrix. The analysis recovers Joermungandr within Recumbirostra with likely affinities to the sister clades Molgophidae and Brachystelechidae. Finally, we review integumentary patterns in Recumbirostra, noting reductions and losses of gastralia and osteoderms associated with body elongation and, thus, probably also associated with increased fossoriality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arjan Mann
- Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, 2115 Herzberg Laboratories,1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6
| | - Ami S. Calthorpe
- Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, 2115 Herzberg Laboratories,1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6
| | - Hillary C. Maddin
- Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, 2115 Herzberg Laboratories,1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6
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Otoo BKA, Bolt JR, Lombard RE, Angielczyk KD, Coates MI. The postcranial anatomy of Whatcheeria deltae and its implications for the family Whatcheeriidae. Zool J Linn Soc 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Here we describe the postcranial skeleton and present the first full-body reconstruction of the early tetrapod Whatcheeria deltae from the Viséan of Iowa. The skeletal proportions, including an elongate neck and large limbs, are unlike those of other Devonian and Mississippian tetrapods. The robust limbs of Whatcheeria appear adapted for a walking gait, but the lateral lines of the cranium are fundamentally unsuited for sustained subaerial exposure. Thus, although Whatcheeria bears a general resemblance to certain terrestrially adapted Permian and Triassic members of crown tetrapod lineages, its unusual form signals a broader range of early amphibious morphologies and habits than previously considered. From the exceptionally rich collection it is evident that most Whatcheeria specimens represent immature individuals. Rare specimens suggest an adult body size of at least 2 m, over twice that of the holotype. Further comparison suggests that the Pederpes holotype might also be a juvenile and reveals a combination of hindlimb characters unique to Whatcheeria and Pederpes. These new data contribute to a revised diagnosis of the family Whatcheeriidae and a re-evaluation of fragmentary Devonian–Carboniferous fossils reported as ‘whatcheeriid’ but sharing no synapomorphies with the more precisely defined clade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin K A Otoo
- Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- Negauanee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - John R Bolt
- Negauanee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - R Eric Lombard
- Negauanee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Kenneth D Angielczyk
- Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- Negauanee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Michael I Coates
- Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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Pardo JD, Lennie K, Anderson JS. Can We Reliably Calibrate Deep Nodes in the Tetrapod Tree? Case Studies in Deep Tetrapod Divergences. Front Genet 2020; 11:506749. [PMID: 33193596 PMCID: PMC7596322 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.506749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent efforts have led to the development of extremely sophisticated methods for incorporating tree-wide data and accommodating uncertainty when estimating the temporal patterns of phylogenetic trees, but assignment of prior constraints on node age remains the most important factor. This depends largely on understanding substantive disagreements between specialists (paleontologists, geologists, and comparative anatomists), which are often opaque to phylogeneticists and molecular biologists who rely on these data as downstream users. This often leads to misunderstandings of how the uncertainty associated with node age minima arises, leading to inappropriate treatments of that uncertainty by phylogeneticists. In order to promote dialogue on this subject, we here review factors (phylogeny, preservational megabiases, spatial and temporal patterns in the tetrapod fossil record) that complicate assignment of prior node age constraints for deep divergences in the tetrapod tree, focusing on the origin of crown-group Amniota, crown-group Amphibia, and crown-group Tetrapoda. We find that node priors for amphibians and tetrapods show high phylogenetic lability and different phylogenetic treatments identifying disparate taxa as the earliest representatives of these crown groups. This corresponds partially to the well-known problem of lissamphibian origins but increasingly reflects deeper instabilities in early tetrapod phylogeny. Conversely, differences in phylogenetic treatment do not affect our ability to recognize the earliest crown-group amniotes but do affect how diverse we understand the earliest amniote faunas to be. Preservational megabiases and spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the early tetrapod fossil record present unrecognized challenges in reliably estimating the ages of tetrapod nodes; the tetrapod record throughout the relevant interval is spatially restricted and disrupted by several major intervals of minimal sampling coincident with the emergence of all three crown groups. Going forward, researchers attempting to calibrate the ages for these nodes, and other similar deep nodes in the metazoan fossil record, should consciously consider major phylogenetic uncertainty, preservational megabias, and spatiotemporal heterogeneity, preferably examining the impact of working hypotheses from multiple research groups. We emphasize a need for major tetrapod collection effort outside of classic European and North American sections, particularly from the southern hemisphere, and suggest that such sampling may dramatically change our timelines of tetrapod evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason D. Pardo
- Department of Comparative and Experimental Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Kendra Lennie
- McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Jason S. Anderson
- Department of Comparative and Experimental Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
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Brikiatis L. An early Pangaean vicariance model for synapsid evolution. Sci Rep 2020; 10:13091. [PMID: 32753752 PMCID: PMC7403356 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-70117-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic isolation due to geographic separation (vicariance) is the best understood cause of vertebrate speciation. Nevertheless, it has never been demonstrated in the fossil record across a wide range of taxa. Here, by reviewing in-depth the available data of the Late Palaeozoic (~ 350–250 million years ago), I reconstructed an early Pangaean junction-disjunction palaeogeographic model and showed that it coincides strongly with time-calibrated cladograms of the Late Palaeozoic synapsids (the primitive ancestors of modern mammals). The temporal development of the vicariant topology seems to fit closely with the emergence rhythm of the recovered synapsid taxa, suggesting vicariance due to Pangaean separation as the cause of early amniote evolution. The inferred vicariant topology also accounts for the observed pattern in the North American marine biostratigraphic units. Accordingly, the model demonstrates the link between the evolution of life on Earth and palaeogeographic evolution and strongly supports allopatric speciation through vicariance as the prominent mode of amniote evolution. Furthermore, correlations between state-of-the-art biochronostratigraphic charts and this palaeogeographic model suggest that the arido-eustasy model can explain the mid-Permian biotic extinction event and depositional cycles, such as the pre-Zechstein of the Central European Basin.
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Huttenlocker AK, Shelton CD. Bone histology of varanopids (Synapsida) from Richards Spur, Oklahoma, sheds light on growth patterns and lifestyle in early terrestrial colonizers. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190142. [PMID: 31928198 PMCID: PMC7017428 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Varanopids were a group of small to medium-sized synapsids whose fossil record spans the Carboniferous through middle Permian. Although their phylogenetic relationships have received some interest in recent years, little is known about other aspects of their palaeobiology, including their skeletal growth, allometry and habitat preference. Here, we describe varanopid long bone histology based on a sample of well-preserved femora from the lower Permian Richards Spur fissure fill locality, Comanche County, Oklahoma, USA. The sample includes five femora from at least two varanopid taxa-Mycterosaurus and the large varanodontine Varanops brevirostris-and four additional mycterosaurine femora not diagnosed to genus. Prior work on femoral bone compactness provided a baseline to make lifestyle inferences and evaluate whether varanopids were ancestrally terrestrial. Moreover, the large availability of specimens spanning different sizes made possible an assessment of size-related ontogenetic histovariability. All specimens revealed moderately dense cortical bone tissues composed of sparsely vascularized parallel-fibred and lamellar bone with radially arranged rows of longitudinal canals (mostly simple), and many preserved regularly spaced growth marks (annuli and lines of arrested growth) as in modern varanids. We show that bone histology has the potential to explain how ballast was shed and the skeleton lightened for terrestrial mobility in ancestral synapsids and their basal amniote kin, as well as how adjustments in postnatal growth influenced the evolution of larger body sizes in the terrestrial frontier. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vertebrate palaeophysiology'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam K. Huttenlocker
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Christen D. Shelton
- Natural History Department, New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ 08625-0530, USA
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Gee BM, Reisz RR. A redescription of the late Carboniferous trematopid Actiobates peabodyi from Garnett, Kansas. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2020; 303:2821-2838. [PMID: 32003550 DOI: 10.1002/ar.24381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2019] [Revised: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 01/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Dissorophoids are a diverse clade of predominantly Permo-Carboniferous temnospondyls with a wide geographic distribution and broad ecological diversity. Each of the various dissorophoid clades first appears in the late Carboniferous, but their records are relatively sparse and fragmentary compared to those of the early Permian when dissorophoids reach their peak diversity and distribution, particularly in terrestrial environments where they are by far the most taxonomically diverse clade of non-amniote tetrapods. This provides an impetus for further study of the late Carboniferous terrestrial dissorophoids in order to contextualize the early stages in the clade's radiation into terrestrial ecosystems. Here we present a redescription of the late Carboniferous trematopid Actiobates peabodyi from Kansas, USA, which is represented by a nearly complete skeleton and which represents the earliest occurrence of trematopids in North America. Only the skull was previously described, and the taxon has been largely overlooked in the context of early terrestrial dissorophoid evolution. Here, we provide an updated cranial description, the first postcranial description, and a discussion of the position of A. peabodyi in the context of olsoniform evolution. Our most significant finding is the characterization of postcranial anatomy that is highly similar to that of later trematopid taxa. This high degree of conservatism indicates that the earliest trematopids were already well adapted for terrestrial environments, and post-Carboniferous radiations of olsoniforms may be attributed to an expansion of the dryland terrestrial environments in which these taxa already thrived, rather than to novel acquisition of adaptive features later in the clade's evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan M Gee
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
| | - Robert R Reisz
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.,International Centre of Future Science, Dinosaur Evolution Research Center, Jilin University, Changchun, China
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Ford DP, Benson RBJ. The phylogeny of early amniotes and the affinities of Parareptilia and Varanopidae. Nat Ecol Evol 2019; 4:57-65. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-1047-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 10/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Mann A, McDaniel EJ, McColville ER, Maddin HC. Carbonodraco lundi gen et sp. nov., the oldest parareptile, from Linton, Ohio, and new insights into the early radiation of reptiles. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:191191. [PMID: 31827854 PMCID: PMC6894558 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.191191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 10/22/2019] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Redescription of the holotype specimen of Cephalerpeton ventriarmatum Moodie, 1912, from the Middle Pennsylvanian (Moscovian) Francis Creek Shale of Mazon Creek, Illinois, confirms that it is a basal eureptile with close postcranial similarities to other protorothyridids, such as Anthracodromeus and Paleothyris. The skull is long and lightly built, with large orbits and a dorsoventrally short mandible similar to most basal eureptiles. Two specimens referred previously to Cephalerpeton cf. C. ventriarmatum from the approximately coeval Linton, Ohio, locality differ significantly from the holotype in cranial and mandibular proportions and tooth morphology. This material and an additional Linton specimen compare favourably to 'short-faced' parareptiles, such as Colobomycter and Acleistorhinus, and justify recognition of an acleistorhinid parareptile in the Linton assemblage. The new binomen is thus the oldest known parareptile.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arjan Mann
- Author for correspondence: Arjan Mann e-mail:
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