| 1. |
- Elgh, Erik, et al.
(författare)
-
Pterosaur track assemblages from the Upper Jurassic (lower Kimmeridgian) intertidal deposits of Poland : Linking ichnites to potential trackmakers
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. - : ELSEVIER. - 0031-0182 .- 1872-616X. ; 530, s. 32-48
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two distinct tetrapod track assemblages, dominated by pterosaur traces, are reported from Upper Jurassic (lower Kimmeridgian, Hypselocyclum Zone) tidal flat carbonate deposits exposed in Wierzbica Quarry, 20 km south of Radom, Poland. The pterosaur tracks, tentatively assigned to Pteraichnus isp. are well preserved as a positive hyporelief in intertidal facies. Some are preserved with anatomical details (e.g., skin, claw or digital pad impressions) and quality sufficient to make preliminary ichnotaxonomic assignment. Nearly all collected specimens are larger than most other pterosaurian ichnites of the Late Jurassic age, thus adding to the growing diversity of pterosaur traces known from this time period. Morphometrical and anatomical analyses show that ctenochasmatoids or possibly non-pterydactyloid monofenestratans or rhamphorhynchids were most likely the trackmakers. Anatomical comparisons give new insights into the morphology of the pes of pterydactyloids and the most closely related non-pterodactyloids which may be correlated with a niche expansion into marginal marine and lacustrine environments by Middle and Late Jurassic pterosaurs. The palaeoenvironmental interpretation as tidal flat is confirmed by presence of vertically accreted tidal bundles, each representing deposition in one tidal cycle. Most likely then, this was one of the environments frequented by these pterosaurs and other small tetrapods. The wider palaeoecological significance of the tracks is evaluated in the context of other similar reports from the Late Jurassic of Europe, Africa and North America.
|
|
| 2. |
- Mörs, Thomas, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
-
First evidence of a tetrapod footprint from the Triassic of northern Victoria Land, Antarctica
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Polar Research. - : TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD. - 0800-0395 .- 1751-8369. ; 38
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Here, we report on a tetrapod footprint from the Transantarctic Basin in the far north of Victoria Land, which marks the first record of terrestrial vertebrates for this region. The single specimen derives from a previously unknown lithological unit of Middle or Late Triassic age of the Beacon Supergroup in the Helliwell Hills in the central Rennick Glacier area. It differs in both size and morphology clearly from Middle Triassic trackway types from the upper Fremouw Formation of the Queen Alexandra Range in southern Victoria Land, and likely represents a primitive amniote, procolophonid or therapsid. The footprint is the third evidence of fossil vertebrate trackways in Antarctica.
|
|
| 3. |
- Piechowski, Rafal, et al.
(författare)
-
Unexpected bird-like features and high intraspecific variation in the braincase of the Triassic relative of dinosaurs
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Historical Biology. - : TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD. - 0891-2963 .- 1029-2381. ; 31:8, s. 1065-1081
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Silesaurus opolensis Dzik, 2003 from the Late Triassic (late Carnian) of Poland is a key taxon for understanding the evolution of early dinosaurs. High intraspecific variation observed in the S. opolensis braincase brings caution in taxonomic and diversity studies of early dinosauromorphs. The external and internal osteology of three almost complete braincases of S. opolensis show that this taxon shares several similarities with other early dinosauriforms, which supports a close relationship among these forms. However, the paroccipital processes of S. opolensis are directed ventrally like in birds, reaching the level of the ventral margin of the basioccipital condyle. In dinosauromorphs, these processes usually have an almost horizontal orientation (presumed to be the plesiomorphic condition). Modifications observed in birds and S. opolensis have resulted in the dorsoventral expansion of M. complexus and M. depressor mandibulae, which occupy the dorsolateral part of the posterior side of the skull. In adult birds, these muscles act strongly on the initial upstroke of the head during drinking. Therefore, the inferred condition of these muscles in S. opolensis may imply that Silesauridae evolved toward bird-like feeding behaviour.
|
|
| 4. |
- Qvarnström, Martin, et al.
(författare)
-
Beetle-bearing coprolites possibly reveal the diet of a Late Triassic dinosauriform
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Royal Society Open Science. - : The Royal Society. - 2054-5703. ; 6:3
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Diets of extinct animals can be difficult to analyse if no direct evidence, such as gut contents, is preserved in association with body fossils. Inclusions from coprolites (fossil faeces), however, may also reflect the diet of the host animal and become especially informative if the coprolite producer link can be established. Here we describe, based on propagation phase-contrast synchrotron microtomography (PPC-SRμCT), the contents of five morphologically similar coprolites collected from two fossil-bearing intervals from the highly fossiliferous Upper Triassic locality at Krasiejow in Silesia, Poland. Beetle remains, mostly elytra, and unidentified exoskeleton fragments of arthropods are the most conspicuous inclusions found in the coprolites. The abundance of these inclusions suggests that the coprolite producer deliberately targeted beetles and similar small terrestrial invertebrates as prey, but the relatively large size of the coprolites shows that it was not itself a small animal. The best candidate from the body fossil record of the locality is the dinosauriform Silesaurus opolensis Dzik, 2003, which had an anatomy in several ways similar to those of bird-like neotheropod dinosaurs and modern birds. We hypothesize that the beak-like jaws of S. opolensis were used to efficiently peck small insects off the ground, a feeding behaviour analogous to some extant birds.
|
|
| 5. |
- Qvarnström, Martin, et al.
(författare)
-
Filter feeding in Late Jurassic pterosaurs supported by coprolite contents
- 2019
-
Ingår i: PeerJ. - : PEERJ INC. - 2167-8359. ; 7
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Diets of pterosaurs have mainly been inferred from indirect evidence such as comparative anatomy, associations of co-occurring fossils, and functional morphology. Gut contents are rare, and until now there is only a single coprolite (fossil dropping), with unidentified inclusions, known. Here we describe three coprolites collected from a palaeosurface with numerous pterosaur tracks found in early Kimmeridgian (Hypselocyclum Zone) intertidal deposits of the Wierzbica Quarry, Poland. The specimens' morphology and association to the tracks suggest a pterosaur producer. Synchrotron scans reveal numerous small inclusions, with foraminifera making up the majority of the identifiable ones. Other small remains include shells/carapaces (of bivalves, ostracods, and other crustaceans/arthropods) and bristles (some possibly of polychaete worms). The high density of the small shelly inclusions suggest that they were not accidently ingested, but constituted an important food source for the pterosaur(s), perhaps together with unpreserved soft-bodied animals. The combined evidence from the tracks and coprolites suggest a filter-feeding ctenochasmatid as the most likely tracemaker. If true, this significantly expands the bromalite record for this pterosaur group, which was previously only known from gastroliths. Moreover, this study also provides the first direct evidence of filter feeding in Jurassic pterosaurs and shows that they had a similar diet to the recent Chilean flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis).
|
|
| 6. |
- Qvarnström, Martin, et al.
(författare)
-
Tyrannosaurid-like osteophagy by a Triassic archosaur
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 9
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Here we present evidence for osteophagy in the Late Triassic archosaur Smok wawelski Niedzwiedzki, Sulej and Dzik, 2012, a large theropod-like predator from Poland. Ten medium to large-sized coprolites are matched, by their dimensions and by association with body fossils and footprints, to S. wawelski. The coprolites contain fragments of large serrated teeth as well as up to 50 percent by volume of bone fragments, with distinct fragmentation and angularity, from several prey taxa. This suggests pronounced osteophagy. Further evidence for bone-crushing behaviour is provided by isolated worn teeth, bone-rich regurgitalites (fossil regurgitates) and numerous examples of crushed or bite-marked dicynodont bones, all collected from the same bone-bearing beds in the Lipie Slaskie clay-pit. Several of the anatomical characters related to osteophagy, such as a massive head and robust body, seem to be shared by S. wawelski and the tyrannosaurids, despite their wide phylogenetic separation. These large predators thus provide evidence of convergence driven by similar feeding ecology at the beginning and end of the age of dinosaurs.
|
|
| 7. |
- Scholze, Frank, et al.
(författare)
-
Late Permian conchostracans (Crustacea, Branchiopoda) from continental deposits in the Moscow Syneclise, Russia
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Journal of Paleontology. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0022-3360 .- 1937-2337. ; 93:1, s. 72-97
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Moscow Syneclise on the East European Platform is an important area for the study of the continental biota of late Permian to Early Triassic age in continuous sections. This study attempts a taxonomic description of the late Permian conchostracan fauna of this area. The rich, new material was collected, bed by bed, during geological and paleontological excavations of lacustrine and fluvial deposits of the Obnora Formation and Vokhma Formation of the late Permian Zhukovian Regional Stage near the towns of Vyazniki and Gorokhovets. The conchostracan fauna of the Zhukovian Regional Stage consists predominantly of Pseudestheria and less frequently of Palaeolimnadiopsis. In the earliest Triassic Vokhmian Regional Stage, a more diverse fauna including Euestheria, Magniestheria, Cornia, Palaeolimnadiopsis, and Rossolimnadiopsis was already recorded. The preliminary taxonomic determination of the pseudestheriids from the Zhukovian Regional Stage is intended to serve as a prerequisite for future studies of late Permian conchostracan biostratigraphy on the regional to interregional scale.
|
|
| 8. |
- Sulej, Tomasz, et al.
(författare)
-
An elephant-sized Late Triassic synapsid with erect limbs
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Science. - : AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE. - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 363:6422, s. 78-80
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Here, we describe the dicynodont Lisowicia bojani, from the Late Triassic of Poland, a gigantic synapsid with seemingly upright subcursorial limbs that reached an estimated length of more than 4.5 meters, height of 2.6 meters, and body mass of 9 tons. Lisowicia is the youngest undisputed dicynodont and the largest nondinosaurian terrestrial tetrapod from the Triassic. The lack of lines of arrested growth and the highly remodeled cortex of its limb bones suggest permanently rapid growth and recalls that of dinosaurs and mammals. The discovery of Lisowicia overturns the established picture of the Triassic megaherbivore radiation as a phenomenon restricted to dinosaurs and shows that stem-group mammals were capable of reaching body sizes that were not attained again in mammalian evolution until the latest Eocene.
|
|
