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Baiano MA, Cerda IA, Bertozzo F, Pol D. New information on paleopathologies in non-avian theropod dinosaurs: a case study on South American abelisaurids. BMC Ecol Evol 2024; 24:6. [PMID: 38291378 PMCID: PMC10829224 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-023-02187-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Studies on pathological fossil bones have allowed improving the knowledge of physiology and ecology, and consequently the life history of extinct organisms. Among extinct vertebrates, non-avian dinosaurs have drawn attention in terms of pathological evidence, since a wide array of fossilized lesions and diseases were noticed in these ancient organisms. Here, we evaluate the pathological conditions observed in individuals of different brachyrostran (Theropoda, Abelisauridae) taxa, including Aucasaurus garridoi, Elemgasem nubilus, and Quilmesaurus curriei. For this, we use multiple methodological approaches such as histology and computed tomography, in addition to the macroscopic evaluation. The holotype of Aucasaurus shows several pathognomonic traits of a failure of the vertebral segmentation during development, causing the presence of two fused caudal vertebrae. The occurrence of this condition in Aucasaurus is the first case to be documented so far in non-tetanuran theropods. Regarding the holotype of Elemgasem, the histology of two fused vertebrae shows an intervertebral space between the centra, thus the fusion is limited to the distal rim of the articular surfaces. This pathology is here considered as spondyloarthropathy, the first evidence for a non-tetanuran theropod. The microstructural arrangement of the right tibia of Quilmesaurus shows a marked variation in a portion of the outer cortex, probably due to the presence of the radial fibrolamellar bone tissue. Although similar bone tissue is present in other extinct vertebrates and the cause of its formation is still debated, it could be a response to some kind of pathology. Among non-avian theropods, traumatic injuries are better represented than other maladies (e.g., infection, congenital or metabolic diseases, etc.). These pathologies are recovered mainly among large-sized theropods such as Abelisauridae, Allosauridae, Carcharodontosauridae, and Tyrannosauridae, and distributed principally among axial elements. Statistical tests on the distribution of injuries in these theropod clades show a strong association between taxa-pathologies, body regions-pathologies, and taxa-body regions, suggesting different life styles and behaviours may underlie the frequency of different injuries among theropod taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattia A Baiano
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, 1425, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Area Laboratorio e Investigación, Museo Municipal 'Ernesto Bachmann', Dr Natali S/N, 8311, Villa El Chocon, Neuquén, Argentina.
- Universidad Nacional de Río Negro (UNRN), Isidro Lobo 516, 8332, General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina.
| | - Ignacio A Cerda
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, 1425, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Universidad Nacional de Río Negro (UNRN), Isidro Lobo 516, 8332, General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina
- Instituto de Investigacion en Paleobiología y Geología (IIPG), Av. Roca 1242, 8332, General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina
- Museo Carlos Ameghino, Belgrano 1700 (Paraje Pichi Ruca, Predio Marabunta), 8324, Cipolletti, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - Filippo Bertozzo
- Operational Directorate Earth and History of Life, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Diego Pol
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, 1425, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, Av. Fontana 140, 9100, Trelew, Chubut, Argentina
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2
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Chapelle KEJ, Botha J, Choiniere JN. Osteohistology reveals the smallest adult Jurassic sauropodomorph. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:221565. [PMID: 37325591 PMCID: PMC10265025 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.221565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The earliest sauropodomorphs were small omnivores (less than 10 kg) that first appeared in the Carnian. By the Hettangian, early branching sauropodomorphs (EBSMs) were globally distributed, had variable postures, and some attained large body masses (greater than 10 tonnes). Small-bodied EBSMs like Massospondylus carinatus (less than 550 kg) persist at least until the Pliensbachian at nearly all dinosaur-bearing localities worldwide but are comparatively low in alpha diversity. One potential reason for this is competition with other similarly sized contemporary amniotes, including Triassic gomphodont cynodonts, Jurassic early branching ornithischians, herbivorous theropods and potentially early crocodylomorphs. Today's herbivorous mammals show a range of body size classes (less than 10 g to 7 tonnes), with multiple species of small herbivorous mammals (less than 100 kg) frequently co-occurring. Comparatively, our understanding of the phylogenetic distribution of body mass in Early Jurassic strata, and its explanatory power for the lower thresholds of body mass in EBSMs, needs more data. We osteohistologically sectioned a small humerus, BP/1/4732, from the upper Elliot Formation of South Africa. Its comparative morphology and osteohistology show that it represents a skeletally mature individual of a new sauropodomorph taxon with a body mass of approx. 75.35 kg. This makes it one of the smallest known sauropodomorph taxa, and the smallest ever reported from a Jurassic stratum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberley E. J. Chapelle
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa
| | - Jennifer Botha
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa
- GENUS Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa
| | - Jonah N. Choiniere
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa
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3
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Dunne EM, Farnsworth A, Benson RBJ, Godoy PL, Greene SE, Valdes PJ, Lunt DJ, Butler RJ. Climatic controls on the ecological ascendancy of dinosaurs. Curr Biol 2023; 33:206-214.e4. [PMID: 36528026 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The ascendancy of dinosaurs to become dominant components of terrestrial ecosystems was a pivotal event in the history of life, yet the drivers of their early evolution and biodiversity are poorly understood.1,2,3 During their early diversification in the Late Triassic, dinosaurs were initially rare and geographically restricted, only attaining wider distributions and greater abundance following the end-Triassic mass extinction event.4,5,6 This pattern is consistent with an opportunistic expansion model, initiated by the extinction of co-occurring groups such as aetosaurs, rauisuchians, and therapsids.4,7,8 However, this pattern could instead be a response to changes in global climatic distributions through the Triassic to Jurassic transition, especially given the increasing evidence that climate played a key role in constraining Triassic dinosaur distributions.7,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 Here, we test this hypothesis and elucidate how climate influenced early dinosaur distribution by quantitatively examining changes in dinosaur and tetrapod "climatic niche space" across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. Statistical analyses show that Late Triassic sauropodomorph dinosaurs occupied a more restricted climatic niche space than other tetrapods and dinosaurs, being excluded from the hottest, low-latitude climate zones. A subsequent, earliest Jurassic expansion of sauropodomorph geographic distribution is linked to the expansion of their preferred climatic conditions. Evolutionary model-fitting analyses provide evidence for an important evolutionary shift from cooler to warmer climatic niches during the origin of Sauropoda. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that global abundance of sauropodomorph dinosaurs was facilitated by climatic change and provide support for the key role of climate in the ascendancy of dinosaurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma M Dunne
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
| | - Alexander Farnsworth
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Rd, Bristol, BS8 1SS, UK; State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Roger B J Benson
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Rd, Oxford, OX1 3AN, UK
| | - Pedro L Godoy
- Department of Biology, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo 14040-901, Brazil; Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Rd, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Sarah E Greene
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Paul J Valdes
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Rd, Bristol, BS8 1SS, UK
| | - Daniel J Lunt
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Rd, Bristol, BS8 1SS, UK
| | - Richard J Butler
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
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4
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Ballell A, Benton MJ, Rayfield EJ. Dental form and function in the early feeding diversification of dinosaurs. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabq5201. [PMID: 36525501 PMCID: PMC9757754 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq5201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Dinosaurs evolved a remarkable diversity of dietary adaptations throughout the Mesozoic, but the origins of different feeding modes are uncertain, especially the multiple origins of herbivory. Feeding habits of early dinosaurs have mostly been inferred from qualitative comparisons of dental morphology with extant analogs. Here, we use biomechanical and morphometric methods to investigate the dental morphofunctional diversity of early dinosaurs in comparison with extant squamates and crocodylians and predict their diets using machine learning classification models. Early saurischians/theropods are consistently classified as carnivores. Sauropodomorphs underwent a dietary shift from faunivory to herbivory, experimenting with diverse diets during the Triassic and Early Jurassic, and early ornithischians were likely omnivores. Obligate herbivory was a late evolutionary innovation in both clades. Carnivory is the most plausible ancestral diet of dinosaurs, but omnivory is equally likely under certain phylogenetic scenarios. This early dietary diversity was fundamental in the rise of dinosaurs to ecological dominance.
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Surmik D, Słowiak-Morkovina J, Szczygielski T, Kamaszewski M, Kalita S, Teschner EM, Dróżdż D, Duda P, Rothschild BM, Konietzko-Meier D. An insight into cancer palaeobiology: does the Mesozoic neoplasm support tissue organization field theory of tumorigenesis? BMC Ecol Evol 2022; 22:143. [PMID: 36513967 PMCID: PMC9746082 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-022-02098-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neoplasms are common across the animal kingdom and seem to be a feature plesiomorphic for metazoans, related with an increase in somatic complexity. The fossil record of cancer complements our knowledge of the origin of neoplasms and vulnerability of various vertebrate taxa. Here, we document the first undoubted record of primary malignant bone tumour in a Mesozoic non-amniote. The diagnosed osteosarcoma developed in the vertebral intercentrum of a temnospondyl amphibian, Metoposaurus krasiejowensis from the Krasiejów locality, southern Poland. RESULTS A wide array of data collected from gross anatomy, histology, and microstructure of the affected intercentrum reveals the tumour growth dynamics and pathophysiological aspects of the neoplasm formation on the histological level. The pathological process almost exclusively pertains to the periosteal part of the bone composed from a highly vascularised tissue with lamellar matrix. The unorganised arrangement of osteocyte lacunae observed in the tissue is characteristic for bone tissue types connected with static osteogenesis, and not for lamellar bone. The neoplastic bone mimics on the structural level the fast growing fibrolamellar bone, but on the histological level develops through a novel ossification type. The physiological process of bone remodelling inside the endochondral domain continued uninterrupted across the pathology of the periosteal part. CONCLUSIONS Based on the results, we discuss our case study's consistence with the Tissue Organization Field Theory of tumorigenesis, which locates the causes of neoplastic transformations in disorders of tissue architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dawid Surmik
- grid.11866.380000 0001 2259 4135Institute of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia, Będzińska 60, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland
| | - Justyna Słowiak-Morkovina
- grid.413454.30000 0001 1958 0162Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Tomasz Szczygielski
- grid.413454.30000 0001 1958 0162Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Maciej Kamaszewski
- grid.13276.310000 0001 1955 7966Institute of Animal Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Ciszewskiego 8, 02-786 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Sudipta Kalita
- grid.10388.320000 0001 2240 3300Institute of Geosciences, Section Paleontology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Elżbieta M. Teschner
- grid.10388.320000 0001 2240 3300Institute of Geosciences, Section Paleontology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany ,grid.107891.60000 0001 1010 7301Institute of Biology, University of Opole, Oleska 22, 45-052 Opole, Poland
| | - Dawid Dróżdż
- grid.413454.30000 0001 1958 0162Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Piotr Duda
- grid.11866.380000 0001 2259 4135Faculty of Exact and Technical Sciences, University of Silesia, Będzińska 39, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland
| | - Bruce M. Rothschild
- grid.420557.10000 0001 2110 2178Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 4400 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15215 USA
| | - Dorota Konietzko-Meier
- grid.10388.320000 0001 2240 3300Institute of Geosciences, Section Paleontology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany
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6
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Chapelle KEJ, Barrett PM, Choiniere JN, Botha J. Interelemental osteohistological variation in Massospondylus carinatus and its implications for locomotion. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13918. [PMID: 36172498 PMCID: PMC9512004 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Massospondylus carinatus Owen, 1854 is an iconic basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of southern Africa. Over 200 specimens have been referred to this taxon, spanning the entire ontogenetic series from embryo to adult. Consequently, it provides an ideal sample for investigating dinosaur developmental biology, including growth patterns and growth rates, through osteohistological analysis. Massospondylus carinatus was the first early-branching sauropodomorph dinosaur for which a femoral growth series was sampled. Since then, growth series of other non-avian dinosaur taxa have shown that growth plasticity, interelemental variation, and ontogenetic locomotory shifts can complicate our understanding of growth curves and patterns. To investigate these questions further, it is necessary to sample multiple skeletal elements from multiple individuals across a large range of sizes, something that is often hindered by the incompleteness of the fossil record. Here, we conducted a broad, multielement osteohistological study of long bones (excluding metapodials) from 27 specimens of Massospondylus carinatus that span its ontogenetic series. Our study reveals substantial variations in growth history. A cyclical woven-parallel complex is the predominant bone tissue pattern during early and mid-ontogeny, which transitions to slower forming parallel-fibred bone during very late ontogeny. The bone tissue is interrupted by irregularly spaced cyclical growth marks (CGMs) including lines of arrested growth indicating temporary cessations in growth. These CGMs show that the previously recorded femoral growth plasticity is also visible in other long bones, with a poor correlation between body size (measured by midshaft circumference) and CGM numbers. Furthermore, we found that the growth trajectory for an individual can vary depending on which limb element is studied. This makes the establishment of an accurate growth curve and determination of the onset of reproductive maturity difficult for this taxon. Finally, we found no evidence of differential growth rates in forelimb vs hindlimb samples from the same individual, providing further evidence falsifying hypothesised ontogenetic postural shifts in Massospondylus carinatus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberley EJ Chapelle
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York City, New York, United States of America,Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - Paul M. Barrett
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa,Science Group, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jonah N. Choiniere
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - Jennifer Botha
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa,Karoo Palaeontology Department, National Museum, Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa
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7
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Botha J, Choiniere JN, Benson RBJ. Rapid growth preceded gigantism in sauropodomorph evolution. Curr Biol 2022; 32:4501-4507.e2. [PMID: 36084648 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.08.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Sauropod dinosaurs include the largest land animals to have walked the earth, mostly weighing 10-70 tons (e.g., Sander et al.1 and Carballido et al.2). Osteohistology suggests that derived physiological traits evolved near the origin of sauropod gigantism, including both rapid and uninterrupted growth from juvenile to adult with little developmental plasticity.1,3,4 This differs from the slower, seasonally interrupted growth of their direct ancestors, as evident in most non-sauropodan sauropodomorphs, which also show developmental plasticity in some groups. Accelerated but seasonally interrupted growth is present in Lessemsauridae, the sister clade to Sauropoda, which also attained giant adult body sizes (>10 tons).5 These observations suggest a correlation between giant size and accelerated growth. However, testing this evolutionary connection has been limited by the incomplete understanding of the growth patterns in some of the closest non-giant relatives of sauropods. We present the osteohistology of two such taxa, Aardonyx celestae and Sefapanosaurus zatronensis. Both exhibit highly vascularized woven-parallel complexes, with fibrolamellar complexes during early to mid-ontogeny, containing regular growth marks. These observations provide strong evidence for rapid but seasonally interrupted growth with limited developmental plasticity (indicated by the regular spacing of growth marks). Combined with our review of early branching sauropodomorph osteohistology, these results show that highly accelerated growth rates originated among smaller, non-sauropodan sauropodomorphs weighing 1 to 2 tons but preceded the origins of giant size (>10 tons). Therefore, the capacity for rapid bone tissue formation, a derived aspect of rapid growth seen in sauropods, did not evolve specifically to enable giant body sizes but may have been a prerequisite for them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Botha
- Karoo Palaeontology Department, National Museum, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa; Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa.
| | - Jonah N Choiniere
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
| | - Roger B J Benson
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa; Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK
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8
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Sauropodomorph evolution across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary: body size, locomotion, and their influence on morphological disparity. Sci Rep 2021; 11:22534. [PMID: 34795322 PMCID: PMC8602272 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01120-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Sauropodomorph dinosaurs were the dominant medium to large-sized herbivores of most Mesozoic continental ecosystems, being characterized by their long necks and reaching a size unparalleled by other terrestrial animals (> 60 tonnes). Our study of morphological disparity across the entire skeleton shows that during the Late Triassic the oldest known sauropodomorphs occupied a small region of morphospace, subsequently diversifying both taxonomically and ecologically, and shifting to a different and broader region of the morphospace. After the Triassic–Jurassic boundary event, there are no substancial changes in sauropodomorph morphospace occupation. Almost all Jurassic sauropodomorph clades stem from ghost lineages that cross the Triassic–Jurassic boundary, indicating that variations after the extinction were more related to changes of pre-existing lineages (massospondylids, non-gravisaurian sauropodiforms) rather than the emergence of distinct clades or body plans. Modifications in the locomotion (bipedal to quadrupedal) and the successive increase in body mass seem to be the main attributes driving sauropodomorph morphospace distribution during the Late Triassic and earliest Jurassic. The extinction of all non-sauropod sauropodomorphs by the Toarcian and the subsequent diversification of gravisaurian sauropods represent a second expansion of the sauropodomorph morphospace, representing the onset of the flourishing of these megaherbivores that subsequently dominated in Middle and Late Jurassic terrestrial assemblages.
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9
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Olroyd SL, LeBlanc ARH, Araújo R, Angielczyk KD, Duhamel A, Benoit J, Amaral M. Histology and μCT reveal the unique evolution and development of multiple tooth rows in the synapsid Endothiodon. Sci Rep 2021; 11:16875. [PMID: 34413357 PMCID: PMC8377087 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-95993-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Several amniote lineages independently evolved multiple rows of marginal teeth in response to the challenge of processing high fiber plant matter. Multiple tooth rows develop via alterations to tooth replacement in captorhinid reptiles and ornithischian dinosaurs, but the specific changes that produce this morphology differ, reflecting differences in their modes of tooth attachment. To further understand the mechanisms by which multiple tooth rows can develop, we examined this feature in Endothiodon bathystoma, a member of the only synapsid clade (Anomodontia) to evolve a multi-rowed marginal dentition. We histologically sampled Endothiodon mandibles with and without multiple tooth rows as well as single-rowed maxillae. We also segmented functional and replacement teeth in µ-CT scanned mandibles and maxillae of Endothiodon and several other anomodonts with 'postcanine' teeth to characterize tooth replacement in the clade. All anomodonts in our sample displayed a space around the tooth roots for a soft tissue attachment between tooth and jaw in life. Trails of alveolar bone indicate varying degrees of labial migration of teeth through ontogeny, often altering the spatial relationships of functional and replacement teeth in the upper and lower jaws. We present a model of multiple tooth row development in E. bathystoma in which labial migration of functional teeth was extensive enough to prevent resorption and replacement by newer generations of teeth. This model represents another mechanism by which multiple tooth rows evolved in amniotes. The multiple tooth rows of E. bathystoma may have provided more extensive contact between the teeth and a triturating surface on the palatine during chewing.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Aaron R H LeBlanc
- Centre for Oral, Clinical & Translational Sciences, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Ricardo Araújo
- Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Kenneth D Angielczyk
- Negaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, USA
| | - Aliénor Duhamel
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Julien Benoit
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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10
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A re-assessment of the oldest therapsid Raranimus confirms its status as a basal member of the clade and fills Olson's gap. Naturwissenschaften 2021; 108:26. [PMID: 34115204 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-021-01736-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The non-mammalian therapsids comprise a paraphyletic assemblage of Permian-Jurassic synapsids closely related to mammals that includes six major clades of largely unresolved phylogenetic affinity. Understanding the early evolutionary radiation of therapsids is complicated by a gap in the fossil record during the Roadian (middle Permian) known as Olson's gap. Because of its early stratigraphic occurrence and its primitive features, Raranimus dashankouensis, from the Dashankou fauna (Rodian), Qingtoushan Formation (China), is currently considered the best candidate to fill this gap. However, it is known from only a single specimen, an isolated snout, which limits the amount of usable phylogenetic characters to reconstruct its affinities. In addition, understanding of the stratigraphy of the Qingtoushan Formation is poor. Here, we used CT scanning techniques to digitally reconstruct the bones and trigeminal canals of the snout of Raranimus in 3D. We confirm that Raranimus shares a high number of synapomorphies with more derived therapsids and is the only therapsid known so far to display a "pelycosaur"-like maxillary canal bearing a long caudal alveolar canal that gives off branches at regular intervals. This plesiomorphic feature supports the idea that Raranimus is basal to other therapsids.
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11
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Chapelle KEJ, Botha J, Choiniere JN. Extreme growth plasticity in the early branching sauropodomorph Massospondylus carinatus. Biol Lett 2021; 17:20200843. [PMID: 33975484 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
There is growing evidence of developmental plasticity in early branching dinosaurs and their outgroups. This is reflected in disparate patterns of morphological and histological change during ontogeny. In fossils, only the osteohistological assessment of annual lines of arrested growth (LAGs) can reveal the pace of skeletal growth. Some later branching non-bird dinosaur species appear to have followed an asymptotic growth pattern, with declining growth rates at increasing ontogenetic ages. By contrast, the early branching sauropodomorph Plateosaurus trossingensis appears to have had plastic growth, suggesting that this was the plesiomorphic condition for dinosaurs. The South African sauropodomorph Massospondylus carinatus is an ideal taxon in which to test this because it is known from a comprehensive ontogenetic series, it has recently been stratigraphically and taxonomically revised, and it lived at a time of ecosystem upheaval following the end-Triassic extinction. Here, we report on the results of a femoral osteohistological study of M. carinatus comprising 20 individuals ranging from embryo to skeletally mature. We find major variability in the spacing of the LAGs and infer disparate body masses for M. carinatus individuals at given ontogenetic ages, contradicting previous studies. These findings are consistent with a high degree of growth plasticity in M. carinatus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberley E J Chapelle
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2050 South Africa.,School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2050 South Africa
| | - Jennifer Botha
- Karoo Palaeontology Department, National Museum, Bloemfontein, 9300 South Africa.,Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, 9300 South Africa
| | - Jonah N Choiniere
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2050 South Africa
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12
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Griffin CT, Stocker MR, Colleary C, Stefanic CM, Lessner EJ, Riegler M, Formoso K, Koeller K, Nesbitt SJ. Assessing ontogenetic maturity in extinct saurian reptiles. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 96:470-525. [PMID: 33289322 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Revised: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Morphology forms the most fundamental level of data in vertebrate palaeontology because it is through interpretations of morphology that taxa are identified, creating the basis for broad evolutionary and palaeobiological hypotheses. Assessing maturity is one of the most basic aspects of morphological interpretation and provides the means to study the evolution of ontogenetic changes, population structure and palaeoecology, life-history strategies, and heterochrony along evolutionary lineages that would otherwise be lost to time. Saurian reptiles (the least-inclusive clade containing Lepidosauria and Archosauria) have remained an incredibly diverse, numerous, and disparate clade through their ~260-million-year history. Because of the great disparity in this group, assessing maturity of saurian reptiles is difficult, fraught with methodological and terminological ambiguity. We compiled a novel database of literature, assembling >900 individual instances of saurian maturity assessment, to examine critically how saurian maturity has been diagnosed. We review the often inexact and inconsistent terminology used in saurian maturity assessment (e.g. 'juvenile', 'mature') and provide routes for better clarity and cross-study coherence. We describe the various methods that have been used to assess maturity in every major saurian group, integrating data from both extant and extinct taxa to give a full account of the current state of the field and providing method-specific pitfalls, best practices, and fruitful directions for future research. We recommend that a new standard subsection, 'Ontogenetic Assessment', be added to the Systematic Palaeontology portions of descriptive studies to provide explicit ontogenetic diagnoses with clear criteria. Because the utility of different ontogenetic criteria is highly subclade dependent among saurians, even for widely used methods (e.g. neurocentral suture fusion), we recommend that phylogenetic context, preferably in the form of a phylogenetic bracket, be used to justify the use of a maturity assessment method. Different methods should be used in conjunction as independent lines of evidence when assessing maturity, instead of an ontogenetic diagnosis resting entirely on a single criterion, which is common in the literature. Critically, there is a need for data from extant taxa with well-represented growth series to be integrated with the fossil record to ground maturity assessments of extinct taxa in well-constrained, empirically tested methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher T Griffin
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
| | - Michelle R Stocker
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
| | - Caitlin Colleary
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 1 Wade Oval Drive, Cleveland, OH, 44106, U.S.A
| | - Candice M Stefanic
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, U.S.A
| | - Emily J Lessner
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Missouri, 1 Hospital Drive, Columbia, MO, 65212, U.S.A
| | - Mitchell Riegler
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, 241 Williamson Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611, U.S.A
| | - Kiersten Formoso
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, 3651 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, U.S.A
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 W Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90007, U.S.A
| | - Krista Koeller
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, 220 Bartram Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611, U.S.A
| | - Sterling J Nesbitt
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
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13
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A test of the lateral semicircular canal correlation to head posture, diet and other biological traits in "ungulate" mammals. Sci Rep 2020; 10:19602. [PMID: 33177568 PMCID: PMC7658238 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76757-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
For over a century, researchers have assumed that the plane of the lateral semicircular canal of the inner ear lies parallel to the horizon when the head is at rest, and used this assumption to reconstruct head posture in extinct species. Although this hypothesis has been repeatedly questioned, it has never been tested on a large sample size and at a broad taxonomic scale in mammals. This study presents a comprehensive test of this hypothesis in over one hundred "ungulate" species. Using CT scanning and manual segmentation, the orientation of the skull was reconstructed as if the lateral semicircular canal of the bony labyrinth was aligned horizontally. This reconstructed cranial orientation was statistically compared to the actual head posture of the corresponding species using a dataset of 10,000 photographs and phylogenetic regression analysis. A statistically significant correlation between the reconstructed cranial orientation and head posture is found, although the plane of the lateral semicircular canal departs significantly from horizontal. We thus caution against the use of the lateral semicircular canal as a proxy to infer precisely the horizontal plane on dry skulls and in extinct species. Diet (browsing or grazing) and head-butting behaviour are significantly correlated to the orientation of the lateral semicircular canal, but not to the actual head posture. Head posture and the orientation of the lateral semicircular canal are both strongly correlated with phylogenetic history.
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Müller RT, Ferreira JD, Pretto FA, Bronzati M, Kerber L. The endocranial anatomy of Buriolestes schultzi (Dinosauria: Saurischia) and the early evolution of brain tissues in sauropodomorph dinosaurs. J Anat 2020; 238:809-827. [PMID: 33137855 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Revised: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Our knowledge on the anatomy of the first dinosaurs (Late Triassic, 235-205 Ma) has drastically increased in the last years, mainly due to several new findings of exceptionally well-preserved specimens. Nevertheless, some structures such as the neurocranium and its associated structures (brain, labyrinth, cranial nerves, and vasculature) remain poorly known, especially due to the lack of specimens preserving a complete and articulated neurocranium. This study helps to fill this gap by investigating the endocranial cavity of one of the earliest sauropodomorphs, Buriolestes schultzi, from the Upper Triassic (Carnian-c. 233 Ma) of Brazil. The endocranial anatomy of this animal sheds light on the ancestral condition of the brain of sauropodomorphs, revealing an elongated olfactory tract combined to a relatively small pituitary gland and well-developed flocculus of the cerebellum. These traits change drastically across the evolutionary history of sauropodomorphs, reaching the opposite morphology in Jurassic times. Furthermore, we present here the first calculations of the Reptile Encephalization Quotient (REQ) for a Triassic dinosaur. The REQ of B. schultzi is lower than that of Jurassic theropods, but higher than that of later sauropodomorphs. The combination of cerebral, dental, and postcranial data suggest that B. schultzi was an active small predator, able to track moving prey.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo T Müller
- Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, São João do Polêsine, Brazil
| | - José D Ferreira
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil
| | - Flávio A Pretto
- Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, São João do Polêsine, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil
| | - Mario Bronzati
- Laboratório de Evolução e Biologia Integrativa, Faculdade de Filosofia Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Leonardo Kerber
- Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, São João do Polêsine, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil.,Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Coordenação de Ciências da Terra e Ecologia, Belém, Brazil
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15
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Jentgen-Ceschino B, Stein K, Fischer V. Case study of radial fibrolamellar bone tissues in the outer cortex of basal sauropods. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190143. [PMID: 31928196 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The histology of sauropod long bones often appears uniform and conservative along their evolutionary tree. One of the main aspects of their bone histology is to exhibit a fibrolamellar complex in the cortex of their long bones. Here, we report another bone tissue, the radial fibrolamellar bone (RFB), in the outer cortex of the humeri of a young adult cf. Isanosaurus (Early to Late Jurassic, Thailand) and an adult Spinophorosaurus nigerensis (Early to Middle Jurassic, Niger) that do not exhibit any pathological feature on the bone surface. Its location within the cortex is unexpected, because RFB is a rapidly deposited bone tissue that would rather be expected early in the ontogeny. A palaeopathological survey was conducted for these sampled specimens. Observed RFB occurrences are regarded as spiculated periosteal reactive bone, which is an aggressive form of periosteal reaction. A 'hair-on-end' pattern of neoplasmic origin (resembling a Ewing's sarcoma) is favoured for cf. Isanosaurus, while a sunburst pattern of viral or neoplasmic origin (resembling an avian osteopetrosis or haemangioma) is favoured for Spinophorosaurus. This study highlights the importance of bone histology in assessing the frequency and nature of palaeopathologies. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vertebrate palaeophysiology'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Jentgen-Ceschino
- Department of Geology, Université de Liège, 14 Allée du 6 Aout, Liège 4000, Belgium.,Earth System Science - AMGC, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Koen Stein
- Earth System Science - AMGC, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.,Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Directorate 'Earth and History of Life', Rue Vautier 29, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Valentin Fischer
- Department of Geology, Université de Liège, 14 Allée du 6 Aout, Liège 4000, Belgium
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