Some recent (mainly) non-dino/non-avian papers:
Lacustrine deposits of Juro-Cretaceous age in northeastern China have yielded some of the best-preserved fossils of early crown salamanders. One of those taxa, Chunerpeton tianyiense, has been considered as a crown or stem member of the family Cryptobranchidae, significant for implying a long evolutionary history for cryptobranchids and for calibrating the molecular clock of Caudata evolution. Building on the most recent large-scale phylogenetic analysis of relationships among fossil and recent salamanders and utilizing new specimens of Chunerpeton, we update the osteological description and diagnosis for Chunerpeton and reconsider its phylogenetic relationships. On the basis of recently collected Chunerpeton skeletons from the type locality at Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China and available literature, we update the taxon-character matrix and run phylogenetic analyses with constraints on the relationships among families using a molecular backbone. We redescribe the osteology of Chunerpeton, revise and identify some new characters including large anterodorsal fenestra bordered by paired premaxillae, nasals, and frontals; nasals separate and wider than frontal; contact between nasal and prefrontal present; lacrimal present; and contact between pterygoid and parasphenoid absent. Osteological comparisons between Chunerpeton and living cryptobranchids reveal a suite of distinct differences in snout shape and in configurations, positions, and contacts of certain skull bones. Our phylogenetic analyses consistently place Chunerpeton as a stem Caudata outside of Cryptobranchidae and crown salamanders. Exclusion of Chunerpeton from Cryptobranchidae will require reconsideration of the origin time for Cryptobranchidae and recalibration of the molecular clock for the whole caudatan tree.
====
Ana M. BÃez, Paula Muzzopappa & Geraldo J. Barbosa de Mourad (2020)
The earliest records of pipimorph frogs from South America (Aptian, Crato Formation, Brazil): A Critical Evaluation.
Cretaceous Research 104728
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104728
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667120304158
Highlights
Redescription of the late Aptian pipimorph Cratopipa novaolindensis from Brazil.
Other specimens from the same unit document the presence of an additional taxon.
Exhaustive comparisons strengthen their distinctiveness and taxonomic validity.
Comments on the evolutionary significance of some traits.
Abstract
The Aptian limestones of the Crato Formation from the Araripe Basin of northeastern Brazil have yielded well-preserved fossils that provide an open window into a mid-Cretaceous Gondwanan biota, including the oldest known neobatrachian frogs. Herein we review the osteology of the pipimorph xenoanurans from these beds, which stand as the geologically oldest members of this anuran branch from South America. We present a redescription of the only known specimen of the recently named Cratopipa novaolindensis and a revised diagnosis based on a distinct combination of features that sets it aside from all other known pipimorph taxa. In addition, we describe another specimen from the same unit that, despite its partial poor preservation, shows features that document an additional probable new pipimorph taxon and to which we also refer another previously depicted specimen, but refrain from proposing a formal diagnosis because the available material is too incomplete. The probable new taxon differs from Cratopipa in possessing of a broader braincase, a shallow frontoparietal lacking dermal sculpturing and crests, hindlimbs with proportionally longer proximal tarsals, and ilia with round cross-sectioned shafts. This latter fossil occurrence also shows that the unique tympanosquamosal complex of crown pipids, a feature not present in putative basal pipimorph taxa, had already appeared by the mid-Cretaceous. This study reveals previously unknown morphological and taxonomic diversity among the earliest pipimorphs in South America, suggesting a complex, still largely unrecorded evolutionary history. It also highlights the need for a well-supported phylogenetic hypothesis to resolve their phylogenetic relationships.
======
Melanosuchus latrubessei sp. nov.
The SolimÃes Formation (Eocene-Pliocene) is a well-known geological unit due to the great diversity of crocodylian species. Here we describe a new species of Melanosuchus, M. latrubessei sp. nov., from the Talismà locality, state of Amazonas, from the Upper Miocene of the SolimÃes Formation (SolimÃes Basin, Brazil). A new phylogenetic inference focused on Caimaninae is provided and the different evolutionary scenarios involving this new species are discussed. In addition, quantitative morphology studies are carried out and comments regarding the paleoecology aspects of this new species are made. M. latrubessei represents a medium-sized generalist predator, being proportional to the medium-sized M. niger. This new species inhabited the drainages of the SolimÃes Formation and was ecologically related to other taxa of crocodylians during the proto-Amazon Miocene. The evolutionary advantages of Melanosuchus genus are discussed to better understand the biogeographical occurrence of M. niger in South America, a species which survives to this day in contrast to several other species that became extinct during the Miocene-Pliocene periods. The extinction of the Miocene-Pliocene crocodylian taxa of the SolimÃes Formation, including Melanosuchus latrubessei, seems to be directly related with the uplift of the northern portions of the Andes, which generated significantly changes in drainages and Amazon paleoenvironments.
Â=====
Gerardo A Cordero, Anastasiia Maliuk, Xenia Schlindwein, Ingmar Werneburg & Oleksandr Yaryhin (2020)
Phylogenetic patterns and ontogenetic origins of limb length variation in ecologically diverse lacertine lizards.
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, blaa183
doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blaa183
https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/biolinnean/blaa183/6030769
Limb length is intrinsically linked to function and, ultimately, fitness. Thus, it can co-evolve with habitat structure, as exemplified by tropical lizards in highly heterogeneous environments. But does lizard limb length respond in a similar manner during adaptive diversification in temperate zones? Here, we examine variation in habitat preference and limb length in lacertine lizards from the Palaearctic. We tested the following three hypotheses: (1) species of the Lacertini tribe descended from a generalist ancestor and subsequently underwent habitat specialization; (2) specialized ecological roles are associated with relative limb length in extant species; and (3) interspecific differences in limb length emerge in embryonic development. Our comparisons supported an ancestral 'rocky' or 'generalist' habitat preference, and phenotype--habitat associations were particularly supported when examining size-adjusted forelimb length in 69 species that represented all known Lacertini genera. Moreover, we revealed an elevated interlimb ratio in high-vegetation species, which might be linked to climbing performance in species with relatively longer forelimbs. Furthermore, embryonic limb variation was detected solely against an Eremiadini outgroup species. Instead, hind limb length differences within Lacertini originated in post-hatching ontogeny. The mechanisms that modulate limb growth are likely to be limited in Lacertini, because adaptive morphological change might mirror historical contingency and the ecological context wherein this clade diversified.Â
James R. Usherwood and Michael C. Granatosky (2020)
Limb work and joint work minimization reveal an energetic benefit to the elbows-back, knees-forward limb design in parasagittal quadrupeds.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 287(1940): 20201517.
doi: Âhttps://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.1517
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.1517
Free pdf:
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2020.1517
Quadrupedal animal locomotion is energetically costly. We explore two forms of mechanical work that may be relevant in imposing these physiological demands. Limb work, due to the forces and velocities between the stance foot and the centre of mass, could theoretically be zero given vertical limb forces and horizontal centre of mass path. To prevent pitching, skewed vertical force profiles would then be required, with forelimb forces high in late stance and hindlimb forces high in early stance. By contrast, joint workâthe positive mechanical work performed by the limb jointsâwould be reduced with forces directed through the hip or shoulder joints. Measured quadruped kinetics show features consistent with compromised reduction of both forms of work, suggesting some degree of, but not perfect, inter-joint energy transfer. The elbows-back, knees-forward design reduces the joint work demand of a low limb-work, skewed, vertical force profile. This geometry allows periods of high force to be supported when the distal segment is near vertical, imposing low moments about the elbow or knee, while the shoulder or hip avoids high joint power despite high moments because the proximal segment barely rotatesâtranslation over this period is due to rotation of the distal segment.
Michael Berenbrink (2020)
The role of myoglobin in the evolution of mammalian diving capacity â The August Krogh principle applied in molecular and evolutionary physiology.
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology 252: 110843
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2020.110843
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1095643320301963
Highlights
The role of myoglobin as an oxygen store in mammalian divers is reviewed.
A molecular signature of myoglobin tracks mammalian dive capacity evolution.
Myoglobin evolution is a paradigm for species adaptation in proteins.
The August Krogh principle is extended from use for organisms to include proteins.
Abstract
After the Devonian tetrapod land invasion, groups of terrestrial air-breathing and endothermic mammals repeatedly went back to live in the sea, relying on air intake at the surface for extended breath-hold dives to forage underwater, often at great depths and even in the coldest oceans. Studies on the physiological mechanisms behind prolonged breath-hold diving have a long history, including August Krogh's estimates of the maximal dive duration of the blue whale. Yet the molecular underpinnings of such extreme physiological adaptations are only beginning to be understood. The present review focuses on the molecular properties of the respiratory protein myoglobin that has repeatedly evolved an elevated net positive surface charge in several distantly related groups of diving mammals. This has enabled substantial increases of maximal myoglobin concentration in muscle cells, and hence muscle oxygen storage capacity and maximal dive duration. Using myoglobin net surface charge as a marker has allowed unprecedented insights into the evolution of mammal diving capacity and into the general mechanisms of adaptive protein evolution. From these findings it is argued, in an extension of the August Krogh principle, that for a large number of problems in molecular and evolutionary physiology there will be some protein of choice, or a few such proteins, on which it can be most conveniently studied.
====
Michael R. Rampino, Ken Caldeira & Yuhong Zhu (2020)
A 27.5-My underlying periodicity detected in extinction episodes of non-marine tetrapods.
Historical Biology (advance online publication)
DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2020.1849178
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2020.1849178
Free pdf:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/08912963.2020.1849178
Stephen L. Cumbaa, ÂPhilip J. Currie, ÂPeter Dodson, and Jordan Mallon (2020)
Dale Alan Russell (1937-2019): Voyageur of a Vanished World.
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2020-0163
https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjes-2020-0163
We review the distinguished and varied career of our friend and colleague, palaeontologist Dr. Dale A. Russell, following the recent news of his death. Dale relished his work, and approached his research--whether it be on mosasaur systematics, dinosaur extinction, or the evolution of animal intelligence--with great gusto. A deep and contextual thinker, Dale had a penchant for metanarrative rarely equaled in these times of increased research specialization. This quality, combined with his outgoing and collaborative nature, allowed Dale to make friends and colleagues with highly varied research interests throughout the world. We remember Dale fondly, and cherish the opportunity to share the stories of his adventures (and misadventures) across the globe.
====
====
Free pdf:
Yu-Fen Rong, Davit Vasilyan, Li-Ping Dong & Yuan Wang (2020)
Revision of Chunerpeton tianyiense (Lissamphibia, Caudata): is it a cryptoâbranchid salamander?
Palaeoworld (advance online publication),
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2020.12.001
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871174X20300949
Yu-Fen Rong, Davit Vasilyan, Li-Ping Dong & Yuan Wang (2020)
Revision of Chunerpeton tianyiense (Lissamphibia, Caudata): is it a cryptoâbranchid salamander?
Palaeoworld (advance online publication),
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2020.12.001
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871174X20300949
Lacustrine deposits of Juro-Cretaceous age in northeastern China have yielded some of the best-preserved fossils of early crown salamanders. One of those taxa, Chunerpeton tianyiense, has been considered as a crown or stem member of the family Cryptobranchidae, significant for implying a long evolutionary history for cryptobranchids and for calibrating the molecular clock of Caudata evolution. Building on the most recent large-scale phylogenetic analysis of relationships among fossil and recent salamanders and utilizing new specimens of Chunerpeton, we update the osteological description and diagnosis for Chunerpeton and reconsider its phylogenetic relationships. On the basis of recently collected Chunerpeton skeletons from the type locality at Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China and available literature, we update the taxon-character matrix and run phylogenetic analyses with constraints on the relationships among families using a molecular backbone. We redescribe the osteology of Chunerpeton, revise and identify some new characters including large anterodorsal fenestra bordered by paired premaxillae, nasals, and frontals; nasals separate and wider than frontal; contact between nasal and prefrontal present; lacrimal present; and contact between pterygoid and parasphenoid absent. Osteological comparisons between Chunerpeton and living cryptobranchids reveal a suite of distinct differences in snout shape and in configurations, positions, and contacts of certain skull bones. Our phylogenetic analyses consistently place Chunerpeton as a stem Caudata outside of Cryptobranchidae and crown salamanders. Exclusion of Chunerpeton from Cryptobranchidae will require reconsideration of the origin time for Cryptobranchidae and recalibration of the molecular clock for the whole caudatan tree.
====
Ana M. BÃez, Paula Muzzopappa & Geraldo J. Barbosa de Mourad (2020)
The earliest records of pipimorph frogs from South America (Aptian, Crato Formation, Brazil): A Critical Evaluation.
Cretaceous Research 104728
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104728
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667120304158
Highlights
Redescription of the late Aptian pipimorph Cratopipa novaolindensis from Brazil.
Other specimens from the same unit document the presence of an additional taxon.
Exhaustive comparisons strengthen their distinctiveness and taxonomic validity.
Comments on the evolutionary significance of some traits.
Abstract
The Aptian limestones of the Crato Formation from the Araripe Basin of northeastern Brazil have yielded well-preserved fossils that provide an open window into a mid-Cretaceous Gondwanan biota, including the oldest known neobatrachian frogs. Herein we review the osteology of the pipimorph xenoanurans from these beds, which stand as the geologically oldest members of this anuran branch from South America. We present a redescription of the only known specimen of the recently named Cratopipa novaolindensis and a revised diagnosis based on a distinct combination of features that sets it aside from all other known pipimorph taxa. In addition, we describe another specimen from the same unit that, despite its partial poor preservation, shows features that document an additional probable new pipimorph taxon and to which we also refer another previously depicted specimen, but refrain from proposing a formal diagnosis because the available material is too incomplete. The probable new taxon differs from Cratopipa in possessing of a broader braincase, a shallow frontoparietal lacking dermal sculpturing and crests, hindlimbs with proportionally longer proximal tarsals, and ilia with round cross-sectioned shafts. This latter fossil occurrence also shows that the unique tympanosquamosal complex of crown pipids, a feature not present in putative basal pipimorph taxa, had already appeared by the mid-Cretaceous. This study reveals previously unknown morphological and taxonomic diversity among the earliest pipimorphs in South America, suggesting a complex, still largely unrecorded evolutionary history. It also highlights the need for a well-supported phylogenetic hypothesis to resolve their phylogenetic relationships.
======
Melanosuchus latrubessei sp. nov.
Â
Jonas Pereira de Souza-Filho, Edson Guilherme, Peter Mann de Toledo, Ismar de Souza Carvalho, Francisco Ricardo Negri, AndrÃa Aparecida da Rocha Maciente, Giovanne M. Cidade, Mauro Bruno da Silva Lacerda, Lucy Gomes de Souza (2020)
On a new Melanosuchus species (Alligatoroidea: Caimaninae) from SolimÃes Formation (Eocene-Pliocene), Northern Brazil, and evolution of Caimaninae
DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4894.4.5
https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4894.4.5
Jonas Pereira de Souza-Filho, Edson Guilherme, Peter Mann de Toledo, Ismar de Souza Carvalho, Francisco Ricardo Negri, AndrÃa Aparecida da Rocha Maciente, Giovanne M. Cidade, Mauro Bruno da Silva Lacerda, Lucy Gomes de Souza (2020)
On a new Melanosuchus species (Alligatoroidea: Caimaninae) from SolimÃes Formation (Eocene-Pliocene), Northern Brazil, and evolution of Caimaninae
DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4894.4.5
https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4894.4.5
The SolimÃes Formation (Eocene-Pliocene) is a well-known geological unit due to the great diversity of crocodylian species. Here we describe a new species of Melanosuchus, M. latrubessei sp. nov., from the Talismà locality, state of Amazonas, from the Upper Miocene of the SolimÃes Formation (SolimÃes Basin, Brazil). A new phylogenetic inference focused on Caimaninae is provided and the different evolutionary scenarios involving this new species are discussed. In addition, quantitative morphology studies are carried out and comments regarding the paleoecology aspects of this new species are made. M. latrubessei represents a medium-sized generalist predator, being proportional to the medium-sized M. niger. This new species inhabited the drainages of the SolimÃes Formation and was ecologically related to other taxa of crocodylians during the proto-Amazon Miocene. The evolutionary advantages of Melanosuchus genus are discussed to better understand the biogeographical occurrence of M. niger in South America, a species which survives to this day in contrast to several other species that became extinct during the Miocene-Pliocene periods. The extinction of the Miocene-Pliocene crocodylian taxa of the SolimÃes Formation, including Melanosuchus latrubessei, seems to be directly related with the uplift of the northern portions of the Andes, which generated significantly changes in drainages and Amazon paleoenvironments.
Â=====
Gerardo A Cordero, Anastasiia Maliuk, Xenia Schlindwein, Ingmar Werneburg & Oleksandr Yaryhin (2020)
Phylogenetic patterns and ontogenetic origins of limb length variation in ecologically diverse lacertine lizards.
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, blaa183
doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blaa183
https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/biolinnean/blaa183/6030769
Limb length is intrinsically linked to function and, ultimately, fitness. Thus, it can co-evolve with habitat structure, as exemplified by tropical lizards in highly heterogeneous environments. But does lizard limb length respond in a similar manner during adaptive diversification in temperate zones? Here, we examine variation in habitat preference and limb length in lacertine lizards from the Palaearctic. We tested the following three hypotheses: (1) species of the Lacertini tribe descended from a generalist ancestor and subsequently underwent habitat specialization; (2) specialized ecological roles are associated with relative limb length in extant species; and (3) interspecific differences in limb length emerge in embryonic development. Our comparisons supported an ancestral 'rocky' or 'generalist' habitat preference, and phenotype--habitat associations were particularly supported when examining size-adjusted forelimb length in 69 species that represented all known Lacertini genera. Moreover, we revealed an elevated interlimb ratio in high-vegetation species, which might be linked to climbing performance in species with relatively longer forelimbs. Furthermore, embryonic limb variation was detected solely against an Eremiadini outgroup species. Instead, hind limb length differences within Lacertini originated in post-hatching ontogeny. The mechanisms that modulate limb growth are likely to be limited in Lacertini, because adaptive morphological change might mirror historical contingency and the ecological context wherein this clade diversified.Â
=====Â
Free pdf:
James R. Usherwood and Michael C. Granatosky (2020)
Limb work and joint work minimization reveal an energetic benefit to the elbows-back, knees-forward limb design in parasagittal quadrupeds.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 287(1940): 20201517.
doi: Âhttps://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.1517
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.1517
Free pdf:
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2020.1517
Quadrupedal animal locomotion is energetically costly. We explore two forms of mechanical work that may be relevant in imposing these physiological demands. Limb work, due to the forces and velocities between the stance foot and the centre of mass, could theoretically be zero given vertical limb forces and horizontal centre of mass path. To prevent pitching, skewed vertical force profiles would then be required, with forelimb forces high in late stance and hindlimb forces high in early stance. By contrast, joint workâthe positive mechanical work performed by the limb jointsâwould be reduced with forces directed through the hip or shoulder joints. Measured quadruped kinetics show features consistent with compromised reduction of both forms of work, suggesting some degree of, but not perfect, inter-joint energy transfer. The elbows-back, knees-forward design reduces the joint work demand of a low limb-work, skewed, vertical force profile. This geometry allows periods of high force to be supported when the distal segment is near vertical, imposing low moments about the elbow or knee, while the shoulder or hip avoids high joint power despite high moments because the proximal segment barely rotatesâtranslation over this period is due to rotation of the distal segment.
====
Free pdf:
Michael Berenbrink (2020)
The role of myoglobin in the evolution of mammalian diving capacity â The August Krogh principle applied in molecular and evolutionary physiology.
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology 252: 110843
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2020.110843
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1095643320301963
Highlights
The role of myoglobin as an oxygen store in mammalian divers is reviewed.
A molecular signature of myoglobin tracks mammalian dive capacity evolution.
Myoglobin evolution is a paradigm for species adaptation in proteins.
The August Krogh principle is extended from use for organisms to include proteins.
Abstract
After the Devonian tetrapod land invasion, groups of terrestrial air-breathing and endothermic mammals repeatedly went back to live in the sea, relying on air intake at the surface for extended breath-hold dives to forage underwater, often at great depths and even in the coldest oceans. Studies on the physiological mechanisms behind prolonged breath-hold diving have a long history, including August Krogh's estimates of the maximal dive duration of the blue whale. Yet the molecular underpinnings of such extreme physiological adaptations are only beginning to be understood. The present review focuses on the molecular properties of the respiratory protein myoglobin that has repeatedly evolved an elevated net positive surface charge in several distantly related groups of diving mammals. This has enabled substantial increases of maximal myoglobin concentration in muscle cells, and hence muscle oxygen storage capacity and maximal dive duration. Using myoglobin net surface charge as a marker has allowed unprecedented insights into the evolution of mammal diving capacity and into the general mechanisms of adaptive protein evolution. From these findings it is argued, in an extension of the August Krogh principle, that for a large number of problems in molecular and evolutionary physiology there will be some protein of choice, or a few such proteins, on which it can be most conveniently studied.
====
Free pdf:
Michael R. Rampino, Ken Caldeira & Yuhong Zhu (2020)
A 27.5-My underlying periodicity detected in extinction episodes of non-marine tetrapods.
Historical Biology (advance online publication)
DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2020.1849178
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2020.1849178
Free pdf:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/08912963.2020.1849178
Non-marine tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) have apparently experienced at least 10 distinct episodes of intensified extinctions over the past 300 My. Eight of these ten non-marine extinction events are concurrent with known marine-extinction episodes, which previously yielded evidence for an underlying period of ~26.4 to 27.3 My. We performed circular spectral analysis and Fourier transform analysis of the ages of the ten recognised tetrapod-extinction events, and detected a statistically significant (99% confidence) underlying periodicity of ~27.5 My. We also find that the eight coeval non-marine/marine-extinction pulses all occurred at the times of eruptions of Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) (continental flood-basalts and oceanic plateaus), with potentially severe environmental effects. Three of these co-extinction episodes are further correlated with the ages of the three largest (â100-km diameter) impact craters of the last 260 My, which are also apparently capable of causing extinction events. These findings suggest that global cataclysmal events with an underlying periodicity of ~27.5 My were the cause of the coordinated periodic extinction episodes of non-marine tetrapods and marine organisms.
=====
Stephen L. Cumbaa, ÂPhilip J. Currie, ÂPeter Dodson, and Jordan Mallon (2020)
Dale Alan Russell (1937-2019): Voyageur of a Vanished World.
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2020-0163
https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjes-2020-0163
We review the distinguished and varied career of our friend and colleague, palaeontologist Dr. Dale A. Russell, following the recent news of his death. Dale relished his work, and approached his research--whether it be on mosasaur systematics, dinosaur extinction, or the evolution of animal intelligence--with great gusto. A deep and contextual thinker, Dale had a penchant for metanarrative rarely equaled in these times of increased research specialization. This quality, combined with his outgoing and collaborative nature, allowed Dale to make friends and colleagues with highly varied research interests throughout the world. We remember Dale fondly, and cherish the opportunity to share the stories of his adventures (and misadventures) across the globe.
====