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Inostrancevia africana, new gorgonopsian species from Permian of Mozambique + Calvarichelys, new Cretaceous turtle from Argentina + wing-propelled diving birds
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Ben Creisler
Mar 6, 2025, 2:26:07 PM (12 days ago) Mar 6
to DinosaurMa...@googlegroups.com
Ben Creisler
New papers:
Zanildo Macungo, Julien Benoit & Ricardo Araújo (2025)
Inostrancevia africana, the first diagnosable gorgonopsian (Therapsida, Synapsida) from the Metangula graben (Mozambique): new anatomical observations and biostratigraphic implications
Swiss Journal of Palaeontology 144: 12
doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-025-00348-7
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13358-025-00348-7
The diversity of the fauna of the late Permian K6 Formation of the Metangula graben of northern Mozambique is coming to light thanks to recent discoveries made by the PaleoMoz Project. Here we describe the first diagnosable gorgonopsian remains from the K6a2 Member of the Metangula graben, specimen PPM2018-7Z. This specimen is a large-bodied gorgonopsian, and shows several features similar to the latest late Permian species Inostrancevia africana. PPM2018-7Z shares various autapomorphies with Inostrancevia africana including the extremely narrowed jugal ventral to the orbit, the pineal foramen being positioned far posteriorly, the anteroposteriorly expanded ventral portion of postorbital bar, the orbit being larger than the temporal fenestra and by having prefrontal rugosities and foramina. The tooth morphology of Inostrancevia africana is here accessed based on the left canine of PPM2018-7Z, which is characterised by low labial ridges, a short mesial carina and thick basal denticles of the mesial carina. PPM2018-7Z is phylogenetically recovered close to Inostrancevia africana within the “Russian clade gorgonopsians”. PPM2018-7Z and Inostrancevia africana do not possess an interorbital ridge that is present in some rubidgeines such as Clelandina and Dinogorgon. Furthermore, PPM2018-7Z and inostranceviines retain a postfrontal with a posterior process that extends posteriorly invading the parietal border, unlike in rubidgeines in which the posterior process of the postfrontal is absent. The presence of Inostrancevia africana in the K6a2 Member of the Metangula graben helps correlating this member to the Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone in the Karoo Basin of South Africa.
Junya Watanabe (2025)
Aspects of diversity, paleobiology, and morphology of wing-propelled diving birds
Geobios (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.005
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016699525000208
Highlights
Wing-propelled diving in birds is more common than generally considered.
Trade-off in flying wing-propelled divers is not in wing size itself.
Body mass of flying wing-propelled divers can exceed 1 kg.
Multiple evolutionary pathways exist for specialized wing-propelled divers.
Abstract
Bird wings are typically regarded as an apparatus for aerial flight, but many birds are known to use their wings to propel themselves in the water. Although this mode of locomotion, the wing-propelled diving, has attained much attention from ornithologists and paleornithologists, systematic understanding of its diversity has been lacking. This paper attempts to provide an overview on this topic, gleaning information from disparate bodies of literature. Despite the common perception that wing-propelled diving is a relatively specialized mode of locomotion, it has been documented in a number of casual divers as well as many birds usually considered as specialized foot-propelled divers. The fossil record of wing-propelled divers reveals a previously unrecognized morphological diversity in these birds, although difficulty remains on how to reliably infer the presence of this locomotor mode in extinct taxa. Recent anatomical studies have indicated that evolutionary pathways toward wing-propelled diving can be more complicated and diverse than one would assume from the stereotypic idea of evolutionary convergence. Future investigations equipped with well-resolved phylogeny and sophisticated analytical techniques will undoubtedly shed light into more nuanced aspects of the evolution of this mode of locomotion.
Free pdf:
Inostrancevia africana sp. nov.
Inostrancevia africana sp. nov.
Zanildo Macungo, Julien Benoit & Ricardo Araújo (2025)
Inostrancevia africana, the first diagnosable gorgonopsian (Therapsida, Synapsida) from the Metangula graben (Mozambique): new anatomical observations and biostratigraphic implications
Swiss Journal of Palaeontology 144: 12
doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-025-00348-7
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13358-025-00348-7
The diversity of the fauna of the late Permian K6 Formation of the Metangula graben of northern Mozambique is coming to light thanks to recent discoveries made by the PaleoMoz Project. Here we describe the first diagnosable gorgonopsian remains from the K6a2 Member of the Metangula graben, specimen PPM2018-7Z. This specimen is a large-bodied gorgonopsian, and shows several features similar to the latest late Permian species Inostrancevia africana. PPM2018-7Z shares various autapomorphies with Inostrancevia africana including the extremely narrowed jugal ventral to the orbit, the pineal foramen being positioned far posteriorly, the anteroposteriorly expanded ventral portion of postorbital bar, the orbit being larger than the temporal fenestra and by having prefrontal rugosities and foramina. The tooth morphology of Inostrancevia africana is here accessed based on the left canine of PPM2018-7Z, which is characterised by low labial ridges, a short mesial carina and thick basal denticles of the mesial carina. PPM2018-7Z is phylogenetically recovered close to Inostrancevia africana within the “Russian clade gorgonopsians”. PPM2018-7Z and Inostrancevia africana do not possess an interorbital ridge that is present in some rubidgeines such as Clelandina and Dinogorgon. Furthermore, PPM2018-7Z and inostranceviines retain a postfrontal with a posterior process that extends posteriorly invading the parietal border, unlike in rubidgeines in which the posterior process of the postfrontal is absent. The presence of Inostrancevia africana in the K6a2 Member of the Metangula graben helps correlating this member to the Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone in the Karoo Basin of South Africa.
======
Calvarichelys coloniensis gen. et sp. nov.
Carolina Oriozabala, Marcelo S. de la Fuente, J. Alfredo Holley, Juliana Sterli
A new chelid turtle (Testudines, Pleurodira) from the Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina
Papers in Palaeontology 11(2): e70006
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/spp2.70006
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/spp2.70006
A new species of chelid turtle (Calvarichelys coloniensis gen. et sp. nov.) from the Upper Cretaceous La Colonia Formation (Chubut Province, Argentina) is described here. This species is represented by an almost complete skull and a complete lower jaw. Detailed description and comparison of the species enables differentiation of this species from the rest of stem and crown group Chelidae. In particular, this new chelid is characterized by an almost non-existent temporal emargination with a lateral emargination that reaches the parietals but leaves an extended skull roof with almost parallel margins. Also, this new species is similar to some Australasian (e.g. Emydura macquarii, Elseya dentata) and South American (Platemys platycephala) short-necked chelids and some extinct chelids (e.g. Mendozachelys wichmanni) in the presence of a fused and hooked mandibular symphysis. Three types of total evidence analysis (implied and equal weights using maximum parsimony, and Bayesian inference) were carried out to evaluate the phylogenetic relationships of the new species of turtle presented here. In all analyses, C. coloniensis is recovered inside a clade with other Cretaceous South American species such as Mendozachelys wichmanni, Palaeophrynops patagonicus, Lomalatachelys neuquina and Bonapartemys bajobarrealis. However, in the cladistic analyses the mentioned clade is recovered inside crown-Chelidae as the sister group of the short-necked Australasian chelids, while in the Bayesian inference it is located outside crown-Chelidae, being the sister group of Prochelidella spp. + crown Chelidae. These differences highlight the impact of the methodology used (e.g. parsimony, Bayesian inference) on the results.
Carolina Oriozabala, Marcelo S. de la Fuente, J. Alfredo Holley, Juliana Sterli
A new chelid turtle (Testudines, Pleurodira) from the Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina
Papers in Palaeontology 11(2): e70006
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/spp2.70006
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/spp2.70006
A new species of chelid turtle (Calvarichelys coloniensis gen. et sp. nov.) from the Upper Cretaceous La Colonia Formation (Chubut Province, Argentina) is described here. This species is represented by an almost complete skull and a complete lower jaw. Detailed description and comparison of the species enables differentiation of this species from the rest of stem and crown group Chelidae. In particular, this new chelid is characterized by an almost non-existent temporal emargination with a lateral emargination that reaches the parietals but leaves an extended skull roof with almost parallel margins. Also, this new species is similar to some Australasian (e.g. Emydura macquarii, Elseya dentata) and South American (Platemys platycephala) short-necked chelids and some extinct chelids (e.g. Mendozachelys wichmanni) in the presence of a fused and hooked mandibular symphysis. Three types of total evidence analysis (implied and equal weights using maximum parsimony, and Bayesian inference) were carried out to evaluate the phylogenetic relationships of the new species of turtle presented here. In all analyses, C. coloniensis is recovered inside a clade with other Cretaceous South American species such as Mendozachelys wichmanni, Palaeophrynops patagonicus, Lomalatachelys neuquina and Bonapartemys bajobarrealis. However, in the cladistic analyses the mentioned clade is recovered inside crown-Chelidae as the sister group of the short-necked Australasian chelids, while in the Bayesian inference it is located outside crown-Chelidae, being the sister group of Prochelidella spp. + crown Chelidae. These differences highlight the impact of the methodology used (e.g. parsimony, Bayesian inference) on the results.
===
Free pdf:
Junya Watanabe (2025)
Aspects of diversity, paleobiology, and morphology of wing-propelled diving birds
Geobios (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.005
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016699525000208
Highlights
Wing-propelled diving in birds is more common than generally considered.
Trade-off in flying wing-propelled divers is not in wing size itself.
Body mass of flying wing-propelled divers can exceed 1 kg.
Multiple evolutionary pathways exist for specialized wing-propelled divers.
Abstract
Bird wings are typically regarded as an apparatus for aerial flight, but many birds are known to use their wings to propel themselves in the water. Although this mode of locomotion, the wing-propelled diving, has attained much attention from ornithologists and paleornithologists, systematic understanding of its diversity has been lacking. This paper attempts to provide an overview on this topic, gleaning information from disparate bodies of literature. Despite the common perception that wing-propelled diving is a relatively specialized mode of locomotion, it has been documented in a number of casual divers as well as many birds usually considered as specialized foot-propelled divers. The fossil record of wing-propelled divers reveals a previously unrecognized morphological diversity in these birds, although difficulty remains on how to reliably infer the presence of this locomotor mode in extinct taxa. Recent anatomical studies have indicated that evolutionary pathways toward wing-propelled diving can be more complicated and diverse than one would assume from the stereotypic idea of evolutionary convergence. Future investigations equipped with well-resolved phylogeny and sophisticated analytical techniques will undoubtedly shed light into more nuanced aspects of the evolution of this mode of locomotion.
Mickey Mortimer
Mar 7, 2025, 8:09:12 AM (11 days ago) Mar 7
to Dinosaur Mailing Group
"Inostrancevia africana sp. nov."
Note this species was actually named in 2023, this paper just describes a referred specimen of it.
Mickey Mortimer
Ben Creisler
Mar 7, 2025, 10:39:13 AM (11 days ago) Mar 7
to DinosaurMa...@googlegroups.com
Ben Creisler
Yeah, I added it at the last minute by mistake. The species was new to the formation, not a new taxon.
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