-
Rise and diversification of chondrichthyans in the Paleozoic Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-03-14 Lisa Schnetz, Emma M. Dunne, Iris Feichtinger, Richard J. Butler, Michael I. Coates, Ivan J. Sansom
The Paleozoic represents a key time interval in the origins and early diversification of chondrichthyans (cartilaginous fishes), but their diversity and macroevolution are largely obscured by heterogenous spatial and temporal sampling. The predominantly cartilaginous skeletons of chondrichthyans pose an additional limitation on their preservation potential and hence on the quality of their fossil record
-
Stratigraphic paleobiology Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Steven M. Holland, Mark E. Patzkowsky, Katharine M. Loughney
Stratigraphic paleobiology uses a modern understanding of the construction of the stratigraphic record—from beds to depositional sequences to sedimentary basins—to interpret patterns and guide sampling strategies in the fossil record. Over the past 25 years, its principles have been established primarily through forward numerical modeling, originally in shallow-marine systems and more recently in nonmarine
-
Spatial standardization of taxon occurrence data—a call to action Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-02-05 Gawain T. Antell, Roger B. J. Benson, Erin E. Saupe
The fossil record is spatiotemporally heterogeneous: taxon occurrence data have patchy spatial distributions, and this patchiness varies through time. Large-scale quantitative paleobiology studies that fail to account for heterogeneous sampling coverage will generate uninformative inferences at best and confidently draw wrong conclusions at worst. Explicitly spatial methods of standardization are necessary
-
The Bretskyan hierarchy, multiscale allopatry, and geobiomes—on the nature of evolutionary things Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-02-01 Andrej Spiridonov, Niles Eldredge
The process of evolution and the structures it produces are best understood in the light of hierarchy theory. The biota traditionally is described by either the genealogical Linnaean hierarchy or economic hierarchies of communities or ecosystems. Here we describe the Bretskyan hierarchy—a hybrid eco-genealogical hierarchy that consists of nested sets of different-sized, usually polyphyletic communities
-
All the Earth will not remember: how geographic gaps structure the record of diversity and extinction Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-01-24 Isaac W. Krone, Katherine M. Magoulick, Ryan M. Yohler
We know the fossil record is incomplete, but just how much biodiversity does it miss? We produce the first geographically controlled estimate by comparing the geographic ranges of 34,266 modern tetrapods with a map of the world's sedimentary basins. By modeling which tetrapods live within sedimentary basins, we produce a first-order estimate of what might be found in the fossil record of the future
-
Species occurrences of Mio-Pliocene horses (Equidae) from Florida: sampling, ecology, or both? Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-01-24 Stephanie R. Killingsworth, Bruce J. MacFadden
During the late Miocene and early Pliocene (latest Hemphillian, Hh4 interval, 5.7 to 4.75 Ma) a distinctive suite of four species of extinct horses (Family Equidae) were widespread in North America. This includes Nannippus aztecus, Neohipparion eurystyle, Astrohippus stocki, and Dinohippus mexicanus. In Florida, two additional equid species, Pseudhipparion simpsoni and Cormohipparion emsliei, are also
-
Increasing the equitability of data citation in paleontology: capacity building for the big data future Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-12-28 Jansen A. Smith, Nussaïbah B. Raja, Thomas Clements, Danijela Dimitrijević, Elizabeth M. Dowding, Emma M. Dunne, Bryan M. Gee, Pedro L. Godoy, Elizabeth M. Lombardi, Laura P. A. Mulvey, Paulina S. Nätscher, Carl J. Reddin, Bryan Shirley, Rachel C. M. Warnock, Ádám T. Kocsis
Data compilations expand the scope of research; however, data citation practice lags behind advances in data use. It remains uncommon for data users to credit data producers in professionally meaningful ways. In paleontology, databases like the Paleobiology Database (PBDB) enable assessment of patterns and processes spanning millions of years, up to global scale. The status quo for data citation creates
-
Repairing the scaffolding: women authors in Paleobiology Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-12-07 Nan Crystal Arens, Levi Holguin, Natalie Sandoval
Women are underrepresented in paleontology. Despite more women students, representation at senior levels remains low. To advance professionally, scientists must disseminate their research through peer-reviewed publications. We examine gendered authorship patterns in Paleobiology to ask whether the publishing infrastructure supports the Paleontological Society's gender-equity goals. We reviewed all
-
Morphological trends across the Norian/Rhaetian boundary within Late Triassic conodonts in western Canada: implications for protracted paleoenvironmental disturbance preceding the end-Triassic mass extinction Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-12-04 Jerry Z. X. Lei, Martyn L. Golding, Jon M. Husson
The Late Triassic conodont species Mockina ex gr. carinata and Mockina ex gr. englandi were exceptionally prevalent among the marine fauna of the Panthalassan realm from the middle Norian through to the Rhaetian. Leading into the complete extinction of conodonts near the Triassic/Jurassic boundary, a significant turnover event occurred in conodont fauna across the Norian/Rhaetian boundary (NRB), with
-
Ontogenetic mechanisms of size change: implications for the Lilliput effect and beyond Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-12-04 Caroline P. Abbott, Mark Webster, Kenneth D. Angielczyk
Body size has a long history of study in paleobiology and underlies many important phenomena in macroevolution. Body-size patterns in the fossil record are often examined by utilizing size data alone, which hinders our ability to describe the biological meaning behind size change on macroevolutionary timescales. Without data reflecting the biological and geologic factors that drive size change, we
-
Transgression–regression cycles drive correlations in Ediacaran–Cambrian rock and fossil records Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-12-04 Daniel C. Segessenman, Shanan E. Peters
Strata of the Ediacaran Period (635–538.8 Ma) yield the oldest known fossils of complex, macroscopic organisms in the geologic record. These “Ediacaran-type” macrofossils (known as the Ediacaran biota) first appear in mid-Ediacaran strata, experience an apparent decline through the terminal Ediacaran, and directly precede the Cambrian (538.8–485.4 Ma) radiation of animals. Existing hypotheses for the
-
Corallite sizes of reef corals: decoupling of evolutionary and ecological trends Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-10-12 Danijela Dimitrijević, Nussaïbah B. Raja, Wolfgang Kiessling
Corallite sizes reflect a continuum in the efficacy of photosymbiosis in colonial reef corals, with smaller corallite sizes generally associated with higher autotrophy. Using a large compilation of reef-coral traits and corallite diameters as a proxy, we test here the hypothesis that photosymbiotic efficacy has increased over the evolutionary history of scleractinian corals. To gain a more comprehensive
-
Sorting of persistent morphological polymorphisms links paleobiological pattern to population process Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-10-10 Charles Tomomi Parins-Fukuchi
Biological variation fuels evolutionary change. Across longer timescales, however, polymorphisms at both the genomic and phenotypic levels often persist longer than would be expected under standard population genetic models such as positive selection or genetic drift. Explaining the maintenance of this variation within populations across long time spans via balancing selection has been a major triumph
-
Frog limbs in deep time: is jumping locomotion at the roots of the anuran Bauplan? Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-09-15 Celeste M. Pérez-Ben, Andrés I. Lires, Raúl O. Gómez
The unique body plan of frogs (Lissamphibia: Anura) has been largely conserved from at least 200 Myr, and its evolution from a more generalized tetrapod condition is still poorly understood, in part due to the scarce early fossil record of Salientia, the anuran total-group. The origin of the anuran Bauplan has been classically explained as an adaptation to jumping, but recent studies incorporating
-
Growth rate affects blood flow rate to the tibia of the dinosaur Maiasaura Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-09-13 Roger S. Seymour, Heath R. Caldwell, Holly N. Woodward, Qiaohui Hu
Fossil bones were once living tissues that demanded internal blood perfusion in proportion to their metabolic requirements. Metabolic rates were primarily associated with bone growth (modeling) in the juvenile stages and with alteration and repair of existing bone affected by weight bearing and locomotion (remodeling) in later stages. This study estimates blood flow rates to the tibia shafts of the
-
Environmental correlates of molluscan predator–prey body size in the northern Gulf of Mexico Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-08-29 Luke A. Calderaro, Paul G. Harnik, Marina C. Rillo
The Mississippi River watershed drains 40% of the continental United States, and the tremendous primary productivity in the adjacent north-central Gulf of Mexico has created one of the most extensive dead zones on Earth. In contrast, smaller watersheds deliver fewer nutrients to the northeastern gulf, and consequently, productivity is limited and hypoxia is uncommon. How has variation in primary productivity
-
The egg-thief architect: experimental oviraptorosaur nesting physiology, the possibility of adult-mediated incubation, and the feasibility of indirect contact incubation Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-08-11 Jason D. Hogan
Numerous, high-quality reproduction-related oviraptorosaur fossils have been described. However, oviraptorosaur-style nests are unknown among extant animals, and their curious construction makes nesting behavior difficult to interpret. Experiments were undertaken to better understand oviraptorosaur nesting strategies. A surrogate was constructed and placed atop mock-oviraptorosaur nests built from
-
Inferred nutrient forcing on the late middle Eocene to early Oligocene (~40–31 Ma) evolution of the coccolithophore Reticulofenestra (order Isochrysidales) Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-08-11 Ruigang Ma, Marie-Pierre Aubry, David Bord, Xiaobo Jin, Chuanlian Liu
The first size reduction (FSR) in the Reticulofenestra-Gephyrocapsa-Emiliania (RGE) lineage (order Isochrysidales), which occurred in the early Oligocene (~32 Ma), is of great significance for understanding the Lilliput effect that has affected coccolithophore communities from the late Eocene to this day. We conducted a morphologic analysis on the coccoliths of Reticulofenestra species that lived during
-
A quantitative assessment of ontogeny and molting in a Cambrian radiodont and the evolution of arthropod development Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-08-11 Joseph Moysiuk, Jean-Bernard Caron
Radiodonta is a clade of stem euarthropods of central importance to our understanding of the evolution of this phylum. Radiodonts include some of the largest early Paleozoic animals; however, little is known about their ontogeny. We present an analysis of molting patterns and ontogeny in the radiodont Stanleycaris based on 265 exceptionally preserved specimens from the mid-Cambrian (Wuliuan) Burgess
-
James Valentine (20 November 1926–7 April 2023), co-founder of Paleobiology and master of idiographically informed nomothetism Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-08-04 Charles R. Marshall
In 1980, Steven J. Gould published an essay on the emergence of paleobiology as a nomothetic discipline (Gould 1980), nomothetism referring to the search for general laws or principles. Gould contrasted this with the foundation of paleontology, the idiographic tradition of detailing the history of life from the description of new fossil taxa to the elucidation of the long-term patterns of change through
-
Relative oversampling of carbonate rocks in the North American marine fossil record Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-05-29 Diego Balseiro, Matthew G. Powell
Paleontologists have long stressed the need to know how sampling the fossil record might influence our knowledge of the evolution of life. Here, we combine fossil occurrences of North American marine invertebrates from the Paleobiology Database with lithologic data from Macrostrat to identify sampling patterns in carbonate and siliciclastic rocks. We aim to quantify temporal trends in sampling effort
-
Sediment-encased pressure–temperature maturation experiments elucidate the impact of diagenesis on melanin-based fossil color and its paleobiological implications Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-05-08 Arindam Roy, Michael Pittman, Thomas G. Kaye, Evan T. Saitta
Melanin pigments are central to colors and patterns in modern vertebrate integuments, which inform upon ecological and behavioral strategies like crypsis, aposematism, and sociosexual selection. Over the last decade, melanin has emerged as a valuable tool for predicting color in exceptionally preserved fossil feathers and subsequent testing of paleobiological hypotheses in long-extinct dinosaurs and
-
Blood flow rates to leg bones of extinct birds indicate high levels of cursorial locomotion Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-05-02 Qiaohui Hu, Case Vincent Miller, Edward P. Snelling, Roger S. Seymour
Foramina of bones are beginning to yield more information about metabolic rates and activity levels of living and extinct species. This study investigates the relationship between estimated blood flow rate to the femur and body mass among cursorial birds extending back to the Late Cretaceous. Data from fossil foramina are compared with those of extant species, revealing similar scaling relationships
-
Fitting and evaluating univariate and multivariate models of within-lineage evolution Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-04-17 Kjetil Lysne Voje
The nature of phenotypic evolution within lineages is central to many unresolved questions in paleontology and evolutionary biology. Analyses of evolutionary time series of ancestor–descendant populations in the fossil record are likely to make important contributions to many of these debates. However, the limited number of models that have been applied to these types of data may restrict our ability
-
Drilling predation on Early Jurassic bivalves and behavioral patterns of the presumed gastropod predator—evidence from Pliensbachian soft-bottom deposits of northern Germany Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-04-11 Baran Karapunar, Winfried Werner, Sönke Simonsen, Manfred Bade, Markus Lücke, Thomas Rebbe, Siegfried Schubert, Alexis Rojas
Drilling predation is a common reason for mortality of benthic mollusks but did not become common until the late Mesozoic. The scarcity of drill holes in the early Mesozoic fossil record limits our understanding of the evolution of drilling behavior and its role on shaping early Mesozoic marine communities. Here, we use drilling traces on several bivalve taxa from the Lower Jurassic (Pliensbachian)
-
Is the hyoid a constraint on innovation? A study in convergence driving feeding in fish-shaped marine tetrapods Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-04-11 Lene Liebe Delsett, Nicholas Pyenson, Feiko Miedema, Øyvind Hammer
The hyoid apparatus is essential for underwater feeding in marine tetrapods, but it is unclear whether this complex has evolved as convergently as other traits, such as dentition or locomotion. Here we compare the ossified hyoid elements in ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs and odontocete cetaceans, two groups with an overall similar body shape, to understand whether the hyoid elements show any signs of
-
Patterns and processes in the history of body size in turritelline gastropods, Jurassic to Recent Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-03-20 Carlie Pietsch, Michael Gigliotti, Brendan M. Anderson, Warren D. Allmon
Body size is an important trait with implications for energy use and ecology as well as generation time and evolutionary rates. Turritelline gastropods are widely distributed through geologic time and space, making them an excellent group for evaluating macroevolutionary patterns. To evaluate the pattern of body-size change in turritelline gastropods, we compiled a dataset of shell lengths of 316 species
-
Growth allometry and dental topography in Upper Triassic conodonts support trophic differentiation and molar-like element function Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-03-13 Valentin Kelz, Pauline Guenser, Manuel Rigo, Emilia Jarochowska
Conodont elements have high rates of morphological evolution, but the drivers of this disparity are debated. Positive allometric relationships between dimensions of food-processing surfaces and entire P1 elements have been used to argue that these elements performed mechanical digestion. If involved in food processing, the surface of the element should grow at a rate proportional to the increase in
-
Spatial distributions of Tribrachidium, Rugoconites, and Obamus from the Ediacara Member (Rawnsley Quartzite), South Australia Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-03-13 Phillip C. Boan, Scott D. Evans, Christine M. S. Hall, Mary L. Droser
The spatial distribution of in situ sessile organisms, including those from the fossil record, provides information about life histories, such as possible dispersal and/or settlement mechanisms, and how taxa interact with one another and their local environments. At Nilpena Ediacara National Park (NENP), South Australia, the exquisite preservation and excavation of 33 fossiliferous bedding planes from
-
Challenges and directions in analytical paleobiology Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-02-27 Erin M. Dillon, Emma M. Dunne, Tom M. Womack, Miranta Kouvari, Ekaterina Larina, Jordan Ray Claytor, Angelina Ivkić, Mark Juhn, Pablo S. Milla Carmona, Selina Viktor Robson, Anwesha Saha, Jaime A. Villafaña, Michelle E. Zill
Over the last 50 years, access to new data and analytical tools has expanded the study of analytical paleobiology, contributing to innovative analyses of biodiversity dynamics over Earth's history. Despite—or even spurred by—this growing availability of resources, analytical paleobiology faces deep-rooted obstacles that stem from the need for more equitable access to data and best practices to guide
-
Frond orientations with independent current indicators demonstrate the reclining rheotropic mode of life of several Ediacaran rangeomorph taxa Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-02-23 Daniel Pérez-Pinedo, Jenna M. Neville, Giovanni Pasinetti, Christopher McKean, Rod Taylor, Duncan McIlroy
Fossils from the deep-sea Ediacaran biotas of Newfoundland are among the oldest architecturally complex soft-bodied macroorganisms on Earth. Most organisms in the Mistaken Point–type biotas of Avalonia—particularly the fractal-branching frondose Rangeomorpha— have been traditionally interpreted as living erect within the water column during life. However, due to the scarcity of documented physical
-
Ankylosaurian body armor function and evolution with insights from osteohistology and morphometrics of new specimens from the Late Cretaceous of Antarctica Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-02-20 Arthur S. Brum, Lúcia H. S. Eleutério, Tiago R. Simões, Megan R. Whitney, Geovane A. Souza, Juliana M. Sayão, Alexander W. A. Kellner
The body armor of ankylosaurians is a unique morphological feature among dinosaurs. While ankylosaurian body armor has been studied for decades, paleohistological analyses have only started to uncover the details of its function. Yet there has been an overall bias toward sampling ankylosaurian remains from the Northern Hemisphere, with limited quantitative studies on the morphological and functional
-
Convergent evolution of spherical shells in Miocene planktonic foraminifera documents the parallel emergence of a complex character in response to environmental forcing Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-02-20 Peter Kiss, Natália Hudáčková, Jürgen Titschack, Michael G. R. Siccha, Zuzana Heřmanová, Lóránd Silye, Andrej Ruman, Samuel Rybár, Michal Kučera
The spherical encompassing final chamber of the planktonic foraminifera Orbulina universa is a prime example of a complex character whose evolution has been documented by a sequence of intermediate forms. However, the mechanism that induced evolution of the spherical chamber remain unclear. Here we show that shortly after the emergence of Orbulina, documented throughout the oceans, a convergent evolutionary
-
Estimating spatial variation in origination and extinction in deep time: a case study using the Permian–Triassic marine invertebrate fossil record Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-02-10 Bethany J. Allen, Matthew E. Clapham, Erin E. Saupe, Paul B. Wignall, Daniel J. Hill, Alexander M. Dunhill
Understanding spatial variation in origination and extinction can help to unravel the mechanisms underlying macroevolutionary patterns. Although methods have been developed for estimating global origination and extinction rates from the fossil record, no framework exists for applying these methods to restricted spatial regions. Here, we test the efficacy of three metrics for regional analysis, using
-
Diversification trajectories and paleobiogeography of Neogene chondrichthyans from Europe Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-02-08 Jaime A. Villafaña, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, Catalina Pimiento, Jürgen Kriwet
Despite the rich fossil record of Neogene chondrichthyans (chimaeras, sharks, rays, and skates) from Europe, little is known about the macroevolutionary processes that generated their current diversity and geographical distribution. We compiled 4368 Neogene occurrences comprising 102 genera, 41 families, and 12 orders from four European regions (Atlantic, Mediterranean, North Sea, and Paratethys) and
-
Bedrock geological map predictions for Phanerozoic fossil occurrences Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-01-27 Shan Ye, Shanan E. Peters
Geographically explicit, taxonomically resolved fossil occurrences are necessary for reconstructing macroevolutionary patterns and for testing a wide range of hypotheses in the Earth and life sciences. Heterogeneity in the spatial and temporal distribution of fossil occurrences in the Paleobiology Database (PBDB) is attributable to several different factors, including turnover among biological communities
-
A paleothermometer for the northern Andes based on C3–C4 grass phytoliths Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-01-23 Camilla Crifò, Juan Carlos Berrio, Arnoud Boom, Diego A. Giraldo-Cañas, Laurent Bremond
Grass-dominated ecosystems cover ~40% of Earth's terrestrial surface, with tropical grasses accounting for ~20% of global net primary productivity. C3 (cool/temperate) and C4 (tropical and subtropical) grass distribution is driven primarily by temperature. In this work, we used phytolith assemblages collected from vegetation plots along an elevation and temperature gradient in the northern Andes (Colombia
-
A downcore increase in time averaging is the null expectation from the transit of death assemblages through a mixed layer Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-01-19 Adam Tomašových, Susan M. Kidwell, Ran Dai
Understanding how time averaging changes during burial is essential for using Holocene and Anthropocene cores to analyze ecosystem change, given the many ways in which time averaging affects biodiversity measures. Here, we use transition-rate matrices to explore how the extent of time averaging changes downcore as shells transit through a taphonomically complex mixed layer into permanently buried historical
-
Insights for modern invasion ecology from biotic changes of the Clarksville Phase of the Richmondian Invasion (Ordovician, Katian) Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-01-19 Ian J. Forsythe, Alycia L. Stigall
The frequency of biotic invasions in modern ecosystems is increasing due to global trade moving taxa outside their native ranges and climate change facilitating establishment of taxa in previously inhospitable regions. Thus, developing a holistic understanding of biotic invasions and how they impact ecosystems over different timescales—from annual to geologic timescales—is vital. Herein we examine
-
Spatial heterogeneity in benthic foraminiferal assemblages tracks regional impacts of paleoenvironmental change across Cretaceous OAE2 Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-01-19 Raquel Bryant, Christina L. Belanger
The impact of global climate events on local ecosystems can vary spatially. Understanding this potential heterogeneity can illuminate which environments will be most impacted and the proximal drivers of ecosystem responses. Cenomanian–Turonian marine deposits of the Western Interior Seaway (WIS) record paleoceanographic changes associated with the Greenhorn transgression and the onset of Oceanic Anoxic
-
Anomalous 13C enrichment in Mesozoic vertebrate enamel reflects environmental conditions in a “vanished world” and not a unique dietary physiology Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-01-13 Thomas M. Cullen, Fred J. Longstaffe, Ulrich G. Wortmann, Li Huang, David C. Evans
Biogeochemical analyses of organisms’ tissues provide direct proxies for diets, behaviors, and environmental interactions that have proven invaluable for studies of extant and extinct species. Applying these to Cretaceous ecosystems has at times produced anomalous results, however, as dinosaurs preserve unusually positive stable carbon isotope compositions relative to extant C3-feeding vertebrates
-
History of Native American land and natural resource policy in the United States: impacts on the field of paleontology Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-01-09 Hannah L. Kempf, Hunter C. Olson, Pedro M. Monarrez, Lawrence Bradley, Christopher Keane, Sandra J. Carlson
We highlight the historical and contemporary policies that govern paleontological research on federally recognized Native American lands. The United States has a long history of fossil dispossession from Indigenous Peoples, and federal policies surrounding the management of Native American lands (i.e., reservations), and the geological resources therein, have changed through time. These changes reflect
-
Hydrodynamic trade-offs in potential swimming efficiency of planispiral ammonoids Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-01-09 Kathleen Anita Ritterbush, Nicholas Hebdon
Ammonoid cephalopods were Earth's most abundant oceanic carnivores for hundreds of millions of years, yet their probable range of swimming capabilities is poorly constrained. We investigate potential hydrodynamic costs and advantages provided by different conch geometries using computational fluid dynamics simulations. Simulations of raw drag demonstrate expected increases with velocity and conch inflation
-
Linking host plants to damage types in the fossil record of insect herbivory Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-01-09 Sandra R. Schachat, Jonathan L. Payne, C. Kevin Boyce
Studies of insect herbivory on fossilized leaves tend to focus on a few, relatively simple metrics that are agnostic to the distribution of insect damage types among host plants. More complex metrics that link particular damage types to particular host plants have the potential to address additional ecological questions, but such metrics can be biased by sampling incompleteness due to the difficulty
-
Morphological evolution during the last hurrah of the trilobites: morphometric analysis of the Devonian asteropyginid trilobites Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-12-21 Rene P. Martin, Natalia López Carranza, Rhiannon J. LaVine, Bruce S. Lieberman
The Asteropyginae Delo, 1935 is a group of phacopid trilobites in the family Acastidae Delo, 1935 that has served as the focus for several studies due to their distinctive morphologies and diversity. However, despite an interest in these characteristic morphologies, there have been no studies that have examined this group using morphometric techniques. Our investigation utilized both geometric morphometric
-
Latest Maastrichtian middle- and high-latitude mosasaurs and fish isotopic composition: carbon source, thermoregulation strategy, and thermal latitudinal gradient Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-12-20 Léa Leuzinger, László Kocsis, Zoneibe Luz, Torsten Vennemann, Alexey Ulyanov, Marta Fernández
Here we report high-latitude stable isotope compositions of Maastrichtian fossil fish and marine reptiles (mainly mosasaurs) from Antarctica (64°S paleolatitude) and compare them with mid-paleolatitude samples from Argentine Patagonia (45°S). Disparities between the δ13C values of bony fish and marine reptiles correspond to differences in the foraging ground (distance from the shore and depth), while
-
Coupling of geographic range and provincialism in Cambrian marine invertebrates Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-12-09 Lin Na, Ádám T. Kocsis, Qijian Li, Wolfgang Kiessling
The Cambrian saw a dramatic increase in metazoan diversity and abundance. Between-assemblage diversity (beta diversity) soared in the first three Cambrian stages, suggesting a rapid increase in the geodisparity of marine animals during the Cambrian radiation. However, it remains unclear how these changes scale up to first-order biogeographic patterns. Here we outline time-traceable provinces for marine
-
A test of Bergmann's rule in the Early Triassic: latitude, body size, and sampling in Lystrosaurus Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-09-21 Zoe T. Kulik, Christian A. Sidor
The ecogeographic rule known as Bergmann's rule suggests that there is a positive relationship between body size and latitude when comparing closely related taxa. The underlying mechanism or mechanisms to explain this pattern vary as widely as the taxa that seem to follow it, which has led to skepticism over whether Bergmann's rule should be considered a rule at all. Despite this, Bergmann's rule is
-
Paleohistological inferences of thermometabolic regimes in Notosuchia (Pseudosuchia: Crocodylomorpha) revisited Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-09-20 Jorge Cubo, Paul Aubier, Mathieu G. Faure-Brac, Gaspard Martet, Romain Pellarin, Idriss Pelletan, Mariana V. A. Sena
Notosuchia is a group of mostly terrestrial crocodyliforms. The presence of a prominent crest overhanging the acetabulum, slender straight-shafted long bones with muscular insertions close to the joints, and a stable knee joint suggests that they had an erect posture. This stance has been proposed to be linked to endothermy, because it is present in mammals and birds and contributes to the efficiency
-
The preservation of cause and effect in the rock record Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-09-20 Michael P. D'Antonio, Daniel E. Ibarra, C. Kevin Boyce
Evolutionary events may impact the geological carbon cycle via transient imbalances in silicate weathering, and such events have been implicated as causes of glaciations, mass extinctions, and oceanic anoxia. However, suggested evolutionary causes often substantially predate the environmental effects to which they are linked—problematic when carbon cycle perturbations must be resolved in less than
-
Examining competition during the agnathan/gnathostome transition using distance-based morphometrics Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-09-16 Bradley R. Scott, Philip S. L. Anderson
The rise of jawed vertebrates (gnathostomes) and extinction of nearly all jawless vertebrates (agnathans) is one of the most important transitions in vertebrate evolution, but the causes are poorly understood. Competition between agnathans and gnathostomes during the Devonian period is the most commonly hypothesized cause; however, no formal attempts to test this hypothesis have been made. Generally
-
Latitudinal influences on bryozoan calcification through the Paleozoic Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-09-02 Catherine M. Reid, Patrick N. Wyse Jackson, Marcus M. Key
Bryozoans are active non-phototrophic biomineralizers that precipitate their calcareous skeletons in seawater. Carbonate saturation states varied temporally and spatially in Paleozoic oceans, and we used the Bryozoan Skeletal Index (BSI) to investigate whether bryozoan calcification was controlled by seawater chemistry in Paleozoic trepostome and cryptostome bryozoans. Our results show that cryptostome
-
Convergence and constraint in the cranial evolution of mosasaurid reptiles and early cetaceans Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-08-22 Rebecca F. Bennion, Jamie A. MacLaren, Ellen J. Coombs, Felix G. Marx, Olivier Lambert, Valentin Fischer
The repeated return of tetrapods to aquatic life provides some of the best-known examples of convergent evolution. One comparison that has received relatively little focus is that of mosasaurids (a group of Late Cretaceous squamates) and archaic cetaceans (the ancestors of modern whales and dolphins), both of which show high levels of craniodental disparity, similar initial trends in locomotory evolution
-
Small but mighty: how overlooked small species maintain community structure through middle Eocene climate change Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-08-08 L. E. Kearns, S. M. Bohaty, K. M. Edgar, T. H. G. Ezard
Understanding current and future biodiversity responses to changing climate is pivotal as anthropogenic climate change continues. This understanding is complicated by the multitude of available metrics to quantify dynamics and by biased sampling protocols. Here, we investigate the impact of sampling protocol strategies using a data-rich fossil record to calculate effective diversity using Hill numbers
-
Developmental plasticity in deep time: a window to population ecological inference Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-08-04 Anieke Brombacher, Daniela N. Schmidt, Thomas H. G. Ezard
Developmental plasticity, where traits change state in response to environmental cues, is well studied in modern populations. It is also suspected to play a role in macroevolutionary dynamics, but due to a lack of long-term records, the frequency of plasticity-led evolution in deep time remains unknown. Populations are dynamic entities, yet their representation in the fossil record is a static snapshot
-
Dispersals from the West Tethys as the source of the Indo-West Pacific diversity hotspot in comatulid crinoids Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-08-01 James G. Saulsbury, Tomasz K. Baumiller
Conspicuous centers of biodiversity are frequently attributed to local conditions that promote speciation or resistance to extinction, but recent diversification studies indicate this mode of explanation might not be very general, so it may be fruitful to revisit the role of dispersal in concentrating biodiversity. Here we consider the processes underlying the marine diversity hotspot in the Indo-West
-
Reassessing growth and mortality estimates for the Ordovician trilobite Triarthrus eatoni Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-07-25 Daniel Pauly, James D. Holmes
A length–frequency sample (n = 295) from a fossil population of the Ordovician trilobite Triarthrus eatoni Hall, 1838, assembled and analyzed by J. L. Cisne in 1973 is here reexamined using methods of length–frequency analysis commonly used in fishery science and marine biology. Theoretical considerations and the empirical data at hand suggest that the growth of T. eatoni was not “linear,” but asymptotic
-
Interpretation of fossil embryos requires reasonable assessment of developmental age Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-07-20 D. Charles Deeming, Martin Kundrát
Dinosaur embryos cause a lot of excitement in the scientific literature and are often widely reported because of the general public's interest in dinosaur biology. Well-preserved, articulated oviraptorosaur embryos in eggs are usually interpreted as representing a stage of development close to hatching because of their large size and good level of skeletal ossification. Based on this evidence, a recent
-
Relative species abundance and population densities of the past: developing multispecies occupancy models for fossil data Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-07-11 Trond Reitan, Torbjørn H. Ergon, Lee Hsiang Liow
The number of individuals of species varies, but estimating abundance, given incomplete and biased sampling in both contemporary and fossilized communities, is challenging. Here, we describe a new occupancy model in a hierarchical Bayesian framework with random effects, in which multispecies occupancy and detection are modeled as a means to estimate relative species abundance and relative population
-
Automatic taxonomic identification based on the Fossil Image Dataset (>415,000 images) and deep convolutional neural networks Paleobiology (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-06-17 Xiaokang Liu, Shouyi Jiang, Rui Wu, Wenchao Shu, Jie Hou, Yongfang Sun, Jiarui Sun, Daoliang Chu, Yuyang Wu, Haijun Song
The rapid and accurate taxonomic identification of fossils is of great significance in paleontology, biostratigraphy, and other fields. However, taxonomic identification is often labor-intensive and tedious, and the requisition of extensive prior knowledge about a taxonomic group also requires long-term training. Moreover, identification results are often inconsistent across researchers and communities