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[dinosaur] Dinosaur month free papers + plesiosaur remains from Spain + avian brains + more




Ben Creisler


Wiley Dinosaur Month October 2018
Dinosaur Research Collection
Free pdfs of dinosaur-related (and more) paleontology papers from Wiley until the end of October
(includes a number of papers posted on the DML that were not free previously)




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Some recent papers:Â


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J.M.Quesada, A.PÃrez-GarcÃa, J.M.Gasulla & F.Ortega (2018)
Plesiosauria remains from the Barremian of Morella (CastellÃn, Spain) and first identification of Leptocleididae in the Iberian record.
Cretaceous Research (advance online publication)

Highlights

New plesiosaur remains are described in Late Barremian from Morella, Spain.
The Iberian Early Cretaceous records of plesiosaurs are relatively scarce.
One of these remains belongs to Leptocleididae.
The identification of this group is the first one performed in the Iberian Peninsula.


Abstract

New plesiosaur material from the Iberian Peninsula is described in this paper. These remains come from the Mas de la Parreta quarry (Morella, CastellÃn, Spain). They have been found in upper Barremian (Lower Cretaceous) levels of the Arcillas de Morella Formation. This material consists of nineteen isolated teeth and twenty two vertebrae corresponding to three cervicals, three pectorals, six dorsals, one sacral and nine centra of indeterminate position. This material belongs to a several specimens. Plesiosaur remains are relatively scarce in the European Barremian record and the collection describes here constitutes the largest sample for the Iberian record. Most of these remains are identified as Plesiosauria indet. However, one of them, corresponding to an almost complete cervical vertebra, represents the first evidence of a Leptocleididae plesiosaur in the Iberian record.


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Christina Herold, Philipp SchlÃme, Isabelle Mafoppa-Fomat, Julia Mehlhorn, KatrinAmunts & Markus Axer (2018)
The hippocampus of birds in a view of evolutionary connectomics.
Cortex (advance online publication)


The avian brain displays a different brain architecture compared to mammals. This has led the first pioneers of comparative neuroanatomy to wrong conclusions about bird brain evolution by assuming that the avian telencephalon is a hypertrophied striatum. Based on growing evidence from divers analysis demonstrating that most of the avian forebrain is pallial in nature, this view has substantially changed during the past decades. Further, birds show cognitive abilities comparable to or even exceeding those of some mammals, even without a "six-layered" cortex. Beside higher associative regions, most of these cognitive functions include the processing of information in the hippocampal formation that shares a homologue structure in birds and mammals. Here we show with 3D polarized light imaging that the hippocampal formation of pigeons like the mammalian hippocampal formation shows regional specializations along the anterior-posterior axis in connectivity. In addition, different levels of adult neurogenesis were observed in the subdivisions of the hippocampal formation per se and in the most caudal regions pointing towards a functional specialization along the anterior-posterior axis. Taken together our results point to species specific morphologies but still conserved hippocampal characteristics of connectivity, cells and adult neurogenesis if compared to the mammalian situation. Here our data provides new aspects for the ongoing discussion on hippocampal evolution and mind.

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Stuart S. Sumida &Â Brian Jefcoat (2018)
Anatomy, Animation, and Visual Effects: The Reciprocal Tools of Biology and Film-Making.
Integrative and Comparative Biology, icy092


Locomotion studies, biomechanics, and particularly vertebrate paleontology have had a deep influence on the development of motion pictures, animation, and computer generated visual effects. Biologically straightforward concepts such as morphological correlates of diet, sexual dimorphism, and ontogenetic change are powerful tools for animators and visual effects artists. Despite this deep debt to the ever-increasing role of science and technology in film making, scientists often forget to mine the communication strategies of their science-savvy entertainment industry kin. Further, many of the tools of the film industry are making a direct impact on basic research or have the potential to do so. It is becoming increasingly clear as part of the overall outreach for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (âSTEMâ), scientists must inform and engage with the public. Significantly, many of the concepts and stories we offer as useful to film makers are compelling stories to offer to our own students. And these can be as compelling to the public as the entertainment they often facilitate. Whereas STEM is critically important, adding âAââartâas in the artistic strategies from the fields of animation and visual effects to produce âSTEAMâ helps to build a potentially unstoppable tool for science communication and the public good.

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Angela Lepito (2018)
Where Animation and Science Meet.
Integrative and Comparative Biology, icy074,

Animation is the collision of art and science. How does an animation studio like DreamWorks Animation use scientific principles and engage in science education to make our films better? By facilitating scientific master-classes, demos, and lectures we give our creators a fundamental understanding of reality that enables them to create the animation caricature known as the Illusion of Life. We leverage principles of biology and physics to create believable performances. I will share insights about our custom programming such as master-classes on Quadruped Anatomy and Flight and how these result in a better image on screen. Conversely, animators offer storytelling tools to the scientific community. Animators often use visualization tools similar to those that many scientists use, but in differing narrative orders and with budgets often far exceeding those of scientists. I will highlight strategies of presentation enhancing understanding and increasing the speed of building bridges to share information with the public. This can help scientists leverage their own scientific principles as they present the importance and excitement of their work to the public, as well as to one another.
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Free pdf:

Ari Rudenko (2018)
Prehistoric Body Theater: Bringing Paleontology Narratives to Global Contemporary Performance Audiences.
Integrative and Comparative Biology, icy112,


Prehistoric Body Theater is an emerging performance company that offers paleontology and the evolutionary sciences a unique form of global public outreach through the medium of contemporary dance-theater. These productions aim to educate and inspire diverse audiences by presenting an emotionally potent experience of Earthâs prehistoric ecosystems and humanityâs deep-time origin story. The central characters of these performances are specific vertebrate species from the fossil record. Under collaborative mentorship with leading paleontologists, artistic director A.R. generates choreography by mapping the theoretical locomotion and physiology of the featured prehistoric animals onto diverse ensembles of dancers. These animal characters and their evolutionary narratives are brought to life on stage through evocative use of clay makeup, lighting, sound design, and set installation. Audiences describe their experience of watching Prehistoric Body Theater as âa fully immersive journey through time, with the air, light, soil, and taste of life as it evolvedâ and as âa dive into a mysterious prehistoric past evoking such empathy for all that has come before us.â (Bergstrom Award: Anonymous Audience Questionnaire 2018).