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Zanno LE, Gates TA, Avrahami HM, Tucker RT, Makovicky PJ. An early-diverging iguanodontian (Dinosauria: Rhabdodontomorpha) from the Late Cretaceous of North America. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0286042. [PMID: 37285376 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Intensifying macrovertebrate reconnaissance together with refined age-dating of mid-Cretaceous assemblages in recent decades is producing a more nuanced understanding of the impact of the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum on terrestrial ecosystems. Here we report discovery of a new early-diverging ornithopod, Iani smithi gen. et sp. nov., from the Cenomanian-age lower Mussentuchit Member, Cedar Mountain Formation of Utah, USA. The single known specimen of this species (NCSM 29373) includes a well-preserved, disarticulated skull, partial axial column, and portions of the appendicular skeleton. Apomorphic traits are concentrated on the frontal, squamosal, braincase, and premaxilla, including the presence of three premaxillary teeth. Phylogenetic analyses using parsimony and Bayesian inference posit Iani as a North American rhabdodontomorph based on the presence of enlarged, spatulate teeth bearing up to 12 secondary ridges, maxillary teeth lacking a primary ridge, a laterally depressed maxillary process of the jugal, and a posttemporal foramen restricted to the squamosal, among other features. Prior to this discovery, neornithischian paleobiodiversity in the Mussentuchit Member was based primarily on isolated teeth, with only the hadrosauroid Eolambia caroljonesa named from macrovertebrate remains. Documentation of a possible rhabdodontomorph in this assemblage, along with published reports of an as-of-yet undescribed thescelosaurid, and fragmentary remains of ankylosaurians and ceratopsians confirms a minimum of five, cohabiting neornithischian clades in earliest Late Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems of North America. Due to poor preservation and exploration of Turonian-Santonian assemblages, the timing of rhabdodontomorph extirpation in the Western Interior Basin is, as of yet, unclear. However, Iani documents survival of all three major clades of Early Cretaceous neornithischians (Thescelosauridae, Rhabdodontomorpha, and Ankylopollexia) into the dawn of the Late Cretaceous of North America.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay E Zanno
- Paleontology, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Terry A Gates
- Paleontology, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Haviv M Avrahami
- Paleontology, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Ryan T Tucker
- Department of Earth Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Peter J Makovicky
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
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2
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Rotatori FM, Moreno-Azanza M, Mateus O. Reappraisal and new material of the holotype of Draconyx loureiroi (Ornithischia: Iguanodontia) provide insights on the tempo and modo of evolution of thumb-spiked dinosaurs. Zool J Linn Soc 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The Upper Jurassic Lourinhã Formation is well known for its rich assemblage of fossil vertebrates. In this formation, ornithopod dinosaurs are represented by two iguanodontian species, Eousdryosaurus nanohallucis and Draconyx loureiroi. We recently became aware of unreported material belonging to the holotype of Draconyx loureiroi, consisting of partially articulated manual elements. We here re-describe the holotype specimen ML 357, including the newly discovered material. The specimen was subjected to CT-scanning and its surface data used to assess anatomical characters. Linear measurements of metatarsal III were used to estimate the body length of the specimen. The Draconyx loureiroi holotype was included in two datasets and analysed with maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference approaches to estimate evolutionary rates among Iguanodontia. We present evidence that Draconyx loureiroi is a valid taxon nested in Styracosterna and is clearly diagnosable by a unique combination of characters. Both maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference indicate high evolutionary rates across the Jurassic/Cretaceous transition for the base of Iguanodontia. Length estimation suggests that Draconyx loureiroi was a relatively small, bipedal and possibly cursorial animal. Given its basal phyletic position, we interpret this bauplan was the ancestral condition for Styracosterna, that only later in the Cretaceous evolved into giant quadrupedal forms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filippo Maria Rotatori
- GEOBIOTEC, Department of Earth Sciences, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Campus de Caparica, P-2829 516 Caparica, Portugal
- Museu da Lourinhã, Rua João Luis de Moura 95, 2530-158, Lourinhã, Portugal
| | - Miguel Moreno-Azanza
- GEOBIOTEC, Department of Earth Sciences, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Campus de Caparica, P-2829 516 Caparica, Portugal
- Museu da Lourinhã, Rua João Luis de Moura 95, 2530-158, Lourinhã, Portugal
- Grupo Aragosaurus-IUCA, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Octávio Mateus
- GEOBIOTEC, Department of Earth Sciences, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Campus de Caparica, P-2829 516 Caparica, Portugal
- Museu da Lourinhã, Rua João Luis de Moura 95, 2530-158, Lourinhã, Portugal
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3
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Madzia D, Arbour VM, Boyd CA, Farke AA, Cruzado-Caballero P, Evans DC. The phylogenetic nomenclature of ornithischian dinosaurs. PeerJ 2021; 9:e12362. [PMID: 34966571 PMCID: PMC8667728 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Ornithischians form a large clade of globally distributed Mesozoic dinosaurs, and represent one of their three major radiations. Throughout their evolutionary history, exceeding 134 million years, ornithischians evolved considerable morphological disparity, expressed especially through the cranial and osteodermal features of their most distinguishable representatives. The nearly two-century-long research history on ornithischians has resulted in the recognition of numerous diverse lineages, many of which have been named. Following the formative publications establishing the theoretical foundation of phylogenetic nomenclature throughout the 1980s and 1990s, many of the proposed names of ornithischian clades were provided with phylogenetic definitions. Some of these definitions have proven useful and have not been changed, beyond the way they were formulated, since their introduction. Some names, however, have multiple definitions, making their application ambiguous. Recent implementation of the International Code of Phylogenetic Nomenclature (ICPN, or PhyloCode) offers the opportunity to explore the utility of previously proposed definitions of established taxon names. Since the Articles of the ICPN are not to be applied retroactively, all phylogenetic definitions published prior to its implementation remain informal (and ineffective) in the light of the Code. Here, we revise the nomenclature of ornithischian dinosaur clades; we revisit 76 preexisting ornithischian clade names, review their recent and historical use, and formally establish their phylogenetic definitions. Additionally, we introduce five new clade names: two for robustly supported clades of later-diverging hadrosaurids and ceratopsians, one uniting heterodontosaurids and genasaurs, and two for clades of nodosaurids. Our study marks a key step towards a formal phylogenetic nomenclature of ornithischian dinosaurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Madzia
- Department of Evolutionary Paleobiology, Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Victoria M. Arbour
- Department of Knowledge, Royal BC Museum, Victoria, BC, Canada
- School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
| | | | - Andrew A. Farke
- Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology at The Webb Schools, Claremont, CA, USA
| | - Penélope Cruzado-Caballero
- Área de Paleontología, Departamento de Biología Animal, Edafología y Geología, Universidad de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología (IIPG), Universidad Nacional de Río Negro (UNRN), Río Negro, Argentina
- Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología (IIPG), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), Río Negro, Argentina
- Grupo Aragosaurus-IUCA, Área de Paleontología, Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - David C. Evans
- Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON, Canada
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4
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Yang Y, Wu W, Dieudonné PE, Godefroit P. A new basal ornithopod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of China. PeerJ 2020; 8:e9832. [PMID: 33194351 PMCID: PMC7485509 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
A new basal ornithopod dinosaur, based on two nearly complete articulated skeletons, is reported from the Lujiatun Beds (Yixian Fm, Lower Cretaceous) of western Liaoning Province (China). Some of the diagnostic features of Changmiania liaoningensis nov. gen., nov. sp. are tentatively interpreted as adaptations to a fossorial behavior, including: fused premaxillae; nasal laterally expanded, overhanging the maxilla; shortened neck formed by only six cervical vertebrae; neural spines of the sacral vertebrae completely fused together, forming a craniocaudally-elongated continuous bar; fused scapulocoracoid with prominent scapular spine; and paired ilia symmetrically inclined dorsomedially, partially covering the sacrum in dorsal view. A phylogenetic analysis places Changmiania liaoningensis as the most basal ornithopod dinosaur described so far. It is tentatively hypothesized that both Changmiania liaoningensis specimens were suddenly entrapped in a collapsed underground burrow while they were resting, which would explain their perfect lifelike postures and the complete absence of weathering and scavenging traces. However, further behavioural inference remains problematic, because those specimens lack extensive sedimentological and taphonomic data, as it is also the case for most specimens collected in the Lujiatun Beds so far.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqing Yang
- College of Resources and Civil Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.,College of Paleontology, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.,Key Laboratory for Evolution of Past Life and Change of Environment, Province of Liaoning, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
| | - Wenhao Wu
- Key Laboratory for Evolution of Past Life and Environment in Northeast Asia, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.,Research Center of Paleontology and Stratigraphy, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China
| | - Paul-Emile Dieudonné
- Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología, CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, Rio Negro, Argentina
| | - Pascal Godefroit
- Directorate 'Earth and History of Life', Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
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5
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Bell PR, Herne MC, Brougham T, Smith ET. Ornithopod diversity in the Griman Creek Formation (Cenomanian), New South Wales, Australia. PeerJ 2018; 6:e6008. [PMID: 30533306 PMCID: PMC6284429 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 10/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
During the Early Cretaceous, dinosaur communities of the Australian-Antarctic rift system (Eumeralla and Wonthaggi formations) cropping out in Victoria were apparently dominated by a diverse small-bodied 'basal ornithopod' fauna. Further north, in Queensland (Winton and Mackunda formations), poorly-represented small-bodied ornithopods coexisted with large-bodied iguanodontians. Our understanding of the ornithopod diversity from the region between the Australian-Antarctic rift and Queensland, represented by Lightning Ridge in central-northern New South Wales (Griman Creek Formation), has been superficial. Here, we re-investigate the ornithopod diversity at Lightning Ridge based on new craniodental remains. Our findings indicate a diverse ornithopod fauna consisting of two-to-three small-bodied non-iguanodontian ornithopods (including Weewarrasaurus pobeni gen. et sp. nov.), at least one indeterminate iguanodontian, and a possible ankylopollexian. These results support those of previous studies that favour a general abundance of small-bodied basal ornithopods in Early to mid-Cretaceous high-latitude localities of southeastern Australia. Although these localities are not necessarily time-equivalent, increasing evidence indicates that Lightning Ridge formed a 'meeting point' between the basal ornithopod-dominated localities in Victoria and the sauropod-iguanodontian faunas in Queensland to the north.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phil R. Bell
- School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
| | - Matthew C. Herne
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Tom Brougham
- School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
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6
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Herne MC, Tait AM, Weisbecker V, Hall M, Nair JP, Cleeland M, Salisbury SW. A new small-bodied ornithopod (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from a deep, high-energy Early Cretaceous river of the Australian-Antarctic rift system. PeerJ 2018; 5:e4113. [PMID: 29340228 PMCID: PMC5767335 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2017] [Accepted: 11/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
A new small-bodied ornithopod dinosaur, Diluvicursor pickeringi, gen. et sp. nov., is named from the lower Albian of the Eumeralla Formation in southeastern Australia and helps shed new light on the anatomy and diversity of Gondwanan ornithopods. Comprising an almost complete tail and partial lower right hindlimb, the holotype (NMV P221080) was deposited as a carcass or body-part in a log-filled scour near the base of a deep, high-energy river that incised a faunally rich, substantially forested riverine floodplain within the Australian-Antarctic rift graben. The deposit is termed the 'Eric the Red West Sandstone.' The holotype, interpreted as an older juvenile ∼1.2 m in total length, appears to have endured antemortem trauma to the pes. A referred, isolated posterior caudal vertebra (NMV P229456) from the holotype locality, suggests D. pickeringi grew to at least 2.3 m in length. D. pickeringi is characterised by 10 potential autapomorphies, among which dorsoventrally low neural arches and transversely broad caudal ribs on the anterior-most caudal vertebrae are a visually defining combination of features. These features suggest D. pickeringi had robust anterior caudal musculature and strong locomotor abilities. Another isolated anterior caudal vertebra (NMV P228342) from the same deposit, suggests that the fossil assemblage hosts at least two ornithopod taxa. D. pickeringi and two stratigraphically younger, indeterminate Eumeralla Formation ornithopods from Dinosaur Cove, NMV P185992/P185993 and NMV P186047, are closely related. However, the tail of D. pickeringi is far shorter than that of NMV P185992/P185993 and its pes more robust than that of NMV P186047. Preliminary cladistic analysis, utilising three existing datasets, failed to resolve D. pickeringi beyond a large polytomy of Ornithopoda. However, qualitative assessment of shared anatomical features suggest that the Eumeralla Formation ornithopods, South American Anabisetia saldiviai and Gasparinisaura cincosaltensis, Afro-Laurasian dryosaurids and possibly Antarctic Morrosaurus antarcticus share a close phylogenetic progenitor. Future phylogenetic analysis with improved data on Australian ornithopods will help to test these suggested affinities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew C. Herne
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Alan M. Tait
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Vera Weisbecker
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Michael Hall
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Jay P. Nair
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | | | - Steven W. Salisbury
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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7
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Godefroit P, Garcia G, Gomez B, Stein K, Cincotta A, Lefèvre U, Valentin X. Extreme tooth enlargement in a new Late Cretaceous rhabdodontid dinosaur from Southern France. Sci Rep 2017; 7:13098. [PMID: 29074952 PMCID: PMC5658417 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13160-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2017] [Accepted: 09/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhabdodontidae is a successful clade of ornithopod dinosaurs, characteristic of Late Cretaceous continental faunas in Europe. A new rhabdodontid from the late Campanian, of southern France, Matheronodon provincialis gen. et sp. nov., is characterized by the extreme enlargement of both its maxillary and dentary teeth, correlated to a drastic reduction in the number of maxillary teeth (4 per generation in MMS/VBN-02-102). The interalveolar septa on the maxilla are alternately present or resorbed ventrally so as to be able to lodge such enlarged teeth. The rhabdodontid dentition and masticatory apparatus were adapted for producing a strict and powerful shearing action, resembling a pair of scissors. With their relatively simple dentition, contrasting with the sophisticated dental batteries in contemporary hadrosaurids, Matheronodon and other rhabdodontids are tentatively interpreted as specialized consumers of tough plant parts rich in sclerenchyma fibers, such as Sabalites and Pandanites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Godefroit
- Directorate 'Earth and History of Life', Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 1000, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Géraldine Garcia
- Université de Poitiers, IPHEP, UMR CNRS 7262, 86073, Poitiers, France
| | - Bernard Gomez
- Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon: Terre, Planète, Environnement, UMR CNRS 5276, 69622, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Koen Stein
- Chemistry Department: Analytical, Environmental and Geo-chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Aude Cincotta
- Directorate 'Earth and History of Life', Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 1000, Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Geology, University of Namur, 5000, Namur, Belgium
| | - Ulysse Lefèvre
- Directorate 'Earth and History of Life', Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 1000, Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Geology, Liège University, 4000, Liège, Belgium
| | - Xavier Valentin
- Université de Poitiers, IPHEP, UMR CNRS 7262, 86073, Poitiers, France.,Palaios Association, 86300, Valdivienne, France
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