Some recent non-dino papers:
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Free pdf:
Free pdf:
https://www.senckenberg.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/03_vertebrate_zoology_70_4_2020_Chen_et_Field.pdfPhylogenetic nomenclature, a system of taxonomic nomenclature in which taxon names are defined based on phylogenetic relationships, has been widely adopted in recent decades, particularly by vertebrate palaeontologists. However, formal regulation of this taxonomic system had been non-existent until the recent implementation of the International Code of Phylogenetic Nomenclature (PhyloCode). To fulfil the requirements of the PhyloCode, we explicitly establish phylogenetic definitions that we recommended in a recent phylogenetic study on the avian taxon Caprimulgimorphae (which includes nightjars, potoos, frogmouths, swifts, hummingbirds, and others) and many of its major constituent subclades. Two new names are coined: Sedentaves (for the smallest crown clade uniting Steatornis and Nyctibiidae) and Letornithes (for the smallest crown clade uniting Podargidae and Daedalornithes). We also briefly review the fossil record and diagnostic morphological apomorphies of caprimulgimorph clades for which relevant information is available.
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Free pdf:
Tides are a major component of the interaction between the marine and terrestrial environments, and thus play an important part in shaping the environmental context for the evolution of shallow marine and coastal organisms. Here, we use a dedicated tidal model and palaeogeographic reconstructions from the Late Silurian to early Late Devonian (420âMa, 400âMa and 380âMa, Maâ=âmillions of years ago) to explore the potential significance of tides for the evolution of osteichthyans (bony fish) and tetrapods (land vertebrates). The earliest members of the osteichthyan crown-group date to the Late Silurian, approximately 425âMa, while the earliest evidence for tetrapods is provided by trackways from the Middle Devonian, dated to approximately 393âMa, and the oldest tetrapod body fossils are Late Devonian, approximately 373âMa. Large tidal ranges could have fostered both the evolution of air-breathing organs in osteichthyans to facilitate breathing in oxygen-depleted tidal pools, and the development of weight-bearing tetrapod limbs to aid navigation within the intertidal zones. We find that tidal ranges over 4âm were present around areas of evolutionary significance for the origin of osteichthyans and the fish-tetrapod transition, highlighting the possible importance of tidal dynamics as a driver for these evolutionary processes.
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Christopher S. Rogers, Samuel M. Webb & Maria E. McNamara (2020)
Synchrotron xâray fluorescence analysis reveals diagenetic alteration of fossil melanosome trace metal chemistry.
Palaeontology (advance online publication)
doi:
https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12506https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pala.12506A key feature of the pigment melanin is its high binding affinity for trace metal ions. In modern vertebrates trace metals associated with melanosomes, melaninârich organelles, can show tissueâspecific and taxonâspecific distribution patterns. Such signals preserve in fossil melanosomes, informing on the anatomy and phylogenetic affinities of fossil vertebrates. Fossil and modern melanosomes, however, often differ in trace metal chemistry; in particular, melanosomes from fossil vertebrate eyes are depleted in Zn and enriched in Cu relative to their extant counterparts. Whether these chemical differences are biological or taphonomic in origin is unknown, limiting our ability to use melanosome trace metal chemistry to test palaeobiological hypotheses. Here, we use maturation experiments on eye melanosomes from extant vertebrates and synchrotron rapid scanâxâray fluorescence analysis to show that thermal maturation can dramatically alter melanosome trace element chemistry. In particular, maturation of melanosomes in Cuârich solutions results in significant depletion of Zn, probably due to low pH and competition effects with Cu. These results confirm fossil melanosome chemistry is susceptible to alteration due to variations in local chemical conditions during diagenesis. Maturation experiments can provide essential data on melanosome chemical taphonomy required for accurate interpretations of preserved chemical signatures in fossils.
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