Madea Goes to New Papers

["Jerry D. Harris" <jharris@dixie.edu>]

Thanks to DF for most of these!



Hutchinson, J.R., Miller, C., Fritsch, G., and Hildebrandt, T. 2008. The
anatomical foundation for multidisciplinary studies of animal limb function:
examples from dinosaur and elephant limb imaging studies; pp. 23-38 in Endo,
H. and Frey, R. (eds.), Anatomical Imaging: Towards a New Morphology.
Springer Verlag, Tokyo. 



Witmer, L.M., Ridgely, R.C., Dufeau, D.L., and Semones, M.C. 2008. Using CR
to peer into the past: 3D visualization of the brain and ear regions of
birds, crocodiles, and nonavian dinosaurs; pp. 67-88 in Endo, H. and Frey,
R. (eds.), Anatomical Imaging: Towards a New Morphology. Springer Verlag,
Tokyo.




Pereda-Suberbiola, X. 2009. Biogeographical affinities of Late Cretaceous
continental tetrapods of Europe: a review. Bulletin de la Société Géologique
de France 180(1):57-71. doi: 10.2113/gssgfbull.180.1.57.

ABSTRACT: The continental tetrapod assemblages from the
Santonian-Maastrichtian of Europe consist of dinosaurs (theropods:
Abelisauroidea, Alvarezsauridae, Dromaeosauridae, ?Oviraptorosauria,
?Troodontidae, and birds: Enantiornithes, basal Ornithurae; sauropods:
Titanosauria; ankylosaurs: Nodosauridae; ornithopods: Hadrosauridae,
Rhabdodontidae; and neoceratopsians), pterosaurs (Azhdarchidae),
crocodyliforms (eusuchians: Alligatoroidea, Gavialoidea, ?Hylaeochampsidae;
sebecosuchian-like ziphosuchians; and, probably, basal neosuchians),
choristoderes (?Champsosauridae), squamates (lacertilians: Iguanidae s.l.,
Paramacellodidae, Polyglyphanodontinae, Varanoidea; snakes: Madtsoiidae;
possible amphisbaenians), turtles (cryptodires: Chelydroidea,
Kallokibotionidae, Solemydidae; pleurodires: Bothremydidae, Dortokidae),
lissamphibians (Albanerpetontidae; anurans: Discoglossidae,
Palaeobatrachidae; caudates: Batrachosauroididae, Salamandridae), and
mammals (multituberculates: Kogaionidae, ?"Paracimexomys group"; marsupials:
Herpetotheriidae; eutherians: "Zhelestidae"). 
     The palaeobiogeographical affinities of the Late Cretaceous continental
tetrapods of Europe are complex. The faunas are commonly considered to show
a mixed pattern resulting from the addition of "Asiamerican" and Gondwanan
forms to European taxa. Albanerpetontids, both paramacellodid and
polyglyphonodontine lizards, and hadrosaurid dinosaurs are taxa with
Palaeolaurasian (or, in some case, even Neopangean) affinities. Other forms,
such as paleobatrachid and batrachosauroidid lissamphibians, solemydid
turtles, alligatoroid crocodyliforms, and nodosaurid dinosaurs can be
considered as Euramerican taxa. Kallokibotionid and dortokid turtles,
rhabdodontid dinosaurs and kogaionid mammals are endemic to Europe. The
Gondwanan taxa have been regarded as African immigrants that reached
southern Europe via the Mediterranean Tethyan sill. Abelisaurid and
titanosaurid dinosaurs, trematochampsid crocodyliforms, podocnemidid and
bothremydid turtles, and boid and madtsoiid snakes constitute the basic
pattern of the so-called "Eurogondwanan fauna". However, the validity of
some of these taxa is a disputed matter (Titanosauridae, Trematochampsidae),
and the presence of other taxa in the Late Cretaceous of Europe is based on
controversial data (Boidae, Podocnemididae). Only Abelisauroidea,
Madtsoiidae and Bothremydidae (and, yet for confirming, Sebecosuchia)
provide evidence of interchanges between Africa and Europe. At least
abelisauroids might have reached Europe before the Late Cretaceous. In
conclusion, most of the continental tetrapod taxa from the latest Cretaceous
of Europe show affinities with those of northern Hemisphere landmasses.
Latest Cretaceous trans-Tethyan dispersal events between Africa and Europe
remain poorly documented.





Canudo, J.I., Barco, J.L., Pereda-Suberbiola, X., Ruiz-Omeñaca, J.I.,
Salgado, L., Torcida Fernández-Baldor, F., and Gasulla, J.M. 2009. What
Iberian dinosaurs reveal about the bridge said to exist between Gondwana and
Laurasia in the Early Cretaceous. Bulletin de la Société Géologique de
France 180(1):5-11. doi: 10.2113/gssgfbull.180.1.5.

ABSTRACT: Some Cretaceous dinosaur taxa with a broad enough record on the
continents of the northern hemisphere (Laurasia) or in the southern
continents (Gondwana) have been interpreted as Laurasian or Gondwanan in
origin. The occasional presence of these taxa outside Laurasia or Gondwana
respectively has frequently been explained in terms of dispersal from their
place of origin by means of land bridges that are indeterminate in location
and character. One example of such a dispersal event is provided by the
Early Cretaceous dinosaurs of Europe and Africa. Certain European taxa have
been interpreted as having their origin in Gondwana. If we regard these
presences common to both areas as being the result of a point of
communication between Laurasia and western Gondwana or at least of sporadic
flows in both directions during the Early Cretaceous, we may opt for
dispersal as an explanation. 
     It has been assumed that there was an intercontinental bridge between
Africa and Europe passing through the archipelago of which Iberia formed a
part. This interpretation emerged from the idea that such a bridge existed
in the Late Jurassic, explaining the presence of similar ornithopod
dinosaurs in Africa and Europe. However, from the end of the Early Jurassic
a period of "rift" began on the southern Iberian margin, entailing the
formation of a sedimentary furrow with pelagic sedimentation in what is
known as the Subbetic zone. Moreover, the differences in the observed
dinosaur fauna between western Gondwana and the Iberian Peninsula in the
Neocomian can be explained as the result of endemism and regional
extinctions. The archipelago that formed the Iberian plate was Laurasia?s
closest continental mass to Gondwana during the Neocomian, yet there was
still a separation of several hundred kilometres of open ocean without
islands. Such a barrier would seem difficult for dinosaurs to overcome. As
such, we lack proof of communication between the two supercontinents via
Iberia during the Neocomian. 
     The situation appears to change in the Barremian-Aptian transition.
Some of the taxa present in the Hauterivian-Barremian of Europe are recorded
in Gondwana from the Aptian onwards. This can possibly be explained in terms
of the more complete record that exists, but it cannot be ruled out that a
communication was established between Gondwana and Laurasia at the end of
the Barremian. For the time being, we lack geological support for this
bridge in Iberia, yet it might be located in Apulia, where there is a great
development of shallow-shelf carbonates with dinosaur remains from the
period in question.




Knoll, F., and Ruiz-Omeñaca, J.I. 2009. Theropod teeth from the basalmost
Cretaceous of Anoual (Morocco) and their palaeobiogeographical significance.
Geological Magazine. doi: 10.1017/S0016756809005950.

ABSTRACT: The theropod teeth from the Berriasian (Early Cretaceous) site of
Anoual (N Morocco) are described. The assemblage is important in that it
comes from one of the very few dinosaur sites of this age globally and the
only one for the whole of Gondwana. The theropod teeth from Anoual are
morphologically diverse. Most of the material possibly belongs to the clade
Dromaeosauridae, which would be an early occurrence for this taxon. The
palaeogeographic position of Anoual enables it to provide data on the
dispersal events that affected terrestrial faunas during Mesozoic times. A
Laurasian influence is evidenced by the presence of Velociraptorinae and, on
the whole, the theropod fauna from Anoual provides support for the existence
of a trans-Tethyan passage allowing terrestrial faunal interchanges during
Late Jurassic and/or earliest Cretaceous times. Additionally, Anoual records
the existence of diminutive theropods. However, it cannot yet be determined
whether the small size of the specimens is genetic or ontogenetic.




Remes, K. 2009. Taxonomy of Late Jurassic diplodocid sauropods from
Tendaguru (Tanzania). Fossil Record 12(1):23-46. doi:
10.1002/mmng.200800008.

ABSTRACT: The Late Jurassic (Tithonian) Tendaguru Beds of Tanzania yielded
one of the richest sauropod faunas known, including the diplodocines
Tornieria africana (Fraas, 1908) and Australodocus bohetii Remes, 2007, the
only known representatives of their group on the southern continents.
Historically, the holotypes and referred material of both taxa plus dozens
of additional specimens had been subsumed under the term Barosaurus
africanus (Fraas, 1908). Here, the taxonomic status of the referred elements
is reviewed by evaluating the phylogenetic information content of their
anatomical characters, in order to provide a firm footing for further
studies (e.g. of morphometrics, histology, and phylogeny of the Tendaguru
sauropods). Some of the material shows diplodocine synapomorphies and may
belong to either Tornieria or Australodocus, while other specimens are
diagnostic only on higher taxonomic levels (Diplodocidae, Flagellicaudata,
or Diplodocoidea indet.). The isolated limb elements in most cases lack
phylogenetically diagnostic characters. Generally, the Barosaurus africanus
sample shows a substantial grade of morphological variation, and it cannot
be ruled out that there are more flagellicaudatans represented in the
Tendaguru material than the diplodocines and dicraeosaurids already known.





Wings, O. 2009. A simulated bird gastric mill and its implications for
fossil gastrolith authenticity. Fossil Record 12(1):91-97. doi:
10.1002/mmng.200800013.

ABSTRACT: A rock tumbler, stones, water, plant material, hydrochloric acid,
and pepsin were used to simulate a bird gizzard in order to study abrasion
rate and influence of stomach juices and foodstuff on gastrolith surface
development. The experiment lasted for six months. Each week, the stomach
was supplied with fresh grass and stomach juices. After the end of the
experiment, the set of stones had a combined weight loss of 22.4 %, with
softer rock types showing higher abrasion rates. The combination of stomach
juices and silica phytoliths within the grass had no visible effect on stone
surface development: polish or pitting did not occur. A second experiment
combined only pebbles with water in the tumbler. Results indicate that rock
abrasion is mainly caused by contacts between moving stones. A comparison
with authentic ostrich gastroliths showed that abrasion in the artificial
stomach must have been lower than in a real gizzard, but still too high to
maintain or develop surface polish. If high polish occasionally seen on
sauropodomorph dinosaur gastroliths was indeed caused in a stomach
environment, it implies digestive processes different from those of extant
birds and the artificial gizzard. Geologic origins of polish, such as
transport in hyperconcentrated flows, wind blasting, or tectonic movements
must be considered for polished fossil gastroliths and isolated clasts in
fine-grained sediments (exoliths).




Schellhorn, R., Schwarz-Wings, D., Maisch, M.W., and Wings, O. 2009. Late
Jurassic Sunosuchus (Crocodylomorpha, Neosuchia) from the Qigu Formation in
the Junggar Basin (Xinjiang, China). Fossil Record 12(1):59-69. doi:
10.1002/mmng.200800010.

ABSTRACT: Various bone fragments of the crocodylomorph Sunosuchus from the
Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) Qigu Formation in the southern Junggar Basin
(Xinjiang Province/China) can be assigned to a single specimen and comprise
the occipital region of the skull, mandibular fragments, and few postcranial
elements. The size of the reconstructed skull does not exceed 30 cm in
length and 13 cm in width. After comparison with other Sunosuchus species,
the generic diagnosis of the genus can be expanded with the character of a
lobe-like and unsculptured posterolateral process of the squamosal. The
specimen is the first evidence of a crocodylomorph from the Qigu Formation
and extends the geographical and stratigraphical range of Sunosuchus.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jerry D. Harris
Director of Paleontology
Dixie State College
Science Building
225 South 700 East
St. George, UT  84770   USA
Phone: (435) 652-7758
Fax: (435) 656-4022
E-mail: jharris@dixie.edu
 and     dinogami@gmail.com
http://cactus.dixie.edu/jharris/

"Life is the art of drawing
sufficient conclusions from
insufficient premises."
               -- Samuel Butler