Baphetid amphibians from Pennsylvanian of Czech Republic + fish communities from Devonian to present (free pdfs)
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Ben Creisler
Sep 19, 2025, 2:05:02 PM (9 days ago) Sep 19
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Ben Creisler
Non-dino papers:
Pavel Barták, Martin Ivanov & Boris Ekrt (2025)
The revision of baphetids from the Middle Pennsylvanian of the Czech Republic: Morphology, ontogeny, palaeoecology, and the reassessment of the phylogeny of Baphetoidea
The Anatomical Record (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.70054
https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.70054
Free pdf:
https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ar.70054
The baphetoids represent a clade of the Carboniferous stem-tetrapods (Middle Mississippian—Middle Pennsylvanian) with a characteristic extension of the orbits into antorbital vacuities, which formed keyhole-shaped openings on the skull. The more derived baphetids were crocodile-like piscivores frequently occurring in coal-bearing lacustrine deposits with abundant fish fauna and known from Central and Western Europe, the United States, and Canada. Several important specimens referred to the group have historically been reported from the late Carboniferous (Moscovian) of the Czech Republic, but the thorough revision and comparison of this material have never been fully undertaken. Here we provide a morphological revision of all available baphetid material from the late Carboniferous of the Czech Republic, including one newly described specimen. The part of the presumably lost type material of Loxomma bohemicum was rediscovered and shown here to represent a poorly preserved lower jaw fragment of the temnospondyl Capetus palustris, while all remaining material can be referred to Baphetes orientalis and provides an important insight into the poorly known baphetid ontogeny. The species can be characterized by the postorbital with a very thin and sharply pointed postfrontal process and a slightly elongate rectangular lateral process of the bone. Other characteristics formerly used to diagnose this species are most likely ontogenetically influenced. The results of the most comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the Baphetoidea to date indicate that Baphetinae might be polyphyletic, while “Loxomma” lintonensis has been recovered outside the clade Loxommatinae and cannot be confidently assigned to the Loxomma genus on morphological grounds.
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Free pdf:
Pavel Barták, Martin Ivanov & Boris Ekrt (2025)
The revision of baphetids from the Middle Pennsylvanian of the Czech Republic: Morphology, ontogeny, palaeoecology, and the reassessment of the phylogeny of Baphetoidea
The Anatomical Record (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.70054
https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.70054
Free pdf:
https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ar.70054
The baphetoids represent a clade of the Carboniferous stem-tetrapods (Middle Mississippian—Middle Pennsylvanian) with a characteristic extension of the orbits into antorbital vacuities, which formed keyhole-shaped openings on the skull. The more derived baphetids were crocodile-like piscivores frequently occurring in coal-bearing lacustrine deposits with abundant fish fauna and known from Central and Western Europe, the United States, and Canada. Several important specimens referred to the group have historically been reported from the late Carboniferous (Moscovian) of the Czech Republic, but the thorough revision and comparison of this material have never been fully undertaken. Here we provide a morphological revision of all available baphetid material from the late Carboniferous of the Czech Republic, including one newly described specimen. The part of the presumably lost type material of Loxomma bohemicum was rediscovered and shown here to represent a poorly preserved lower jaw fragment of the temnospondyl Capetus palustris, while all remaining material can be referred to Baphetes orientalis and provides an important insight into the poorly known baphetid ontogeny. The species can be characterized by the postorbital with a very thin and sharply pointed postfrontal process and a slightly elongate rectangular lateral process of the bone. Other characteristics formerly used to diagnose this species are most likely ontogenetically influenced. The results of the most comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the Baphetoidea to date indicate that Baphetinae might be polyphyletic, while “Loxomma” lintonensis has been recovered outside the clade Loxommatinae and cannot be confidently assigned to the Loxomma genus on morphological grounds.
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Free pdf:
John Llewelyn, John A. Long, Richard Cloutier, Alice M. Clement, Giovanni Strona, Frédérik Saltré, Michael S.Y. Lee, Brian Choo, Kate Trinajstic, Olivia Vanhaesebroucke, Austin Fitzpatrick & Corey J.A. Bradshaw (2025)
Trait-space disparity in fish communities spanning 380 million years from the Late Devonian to present
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 113294
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113294
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018225005796
Highlights
The functional trait space of fish communities reflects evolutionary history, habitat, and climate.
Devonian and modern fish communities differ in their trait composition.
Trait differences imply ancient communities functioned differently.
Habitat- and climate-related patterns in functional diversity metrics are consistent across time.
Abstract
The diversity and distribution of species' traits in an ecological community determine how it functions. While modern fish communities conserve trait space across similar habitats, little is known about trait-space variation through deep time or across different habitats. We examined how fish trait diversity varies through space and time by comparing three Late Devonian fish communities — a tropical reef (Gogo, Australia), a tropical estuary (Miguasha, Canada), and a temperate freshwater system (Canowindra, Australia) — with six modern communities from diverse habitats. Trait-space metrics reflecting within-community diversity (functional richness) and species similarity (functional nearest-neighbour distance) indicated Late Devonian communities had scores similar to modern communities. However, they were less functionally rich than their closest modern analogues, and their species tended to be more functionally distinct from one another. Metrics describing location in trait space (centroid distances and hypervolume overlap) showed modern communities were similar to each other, Gogo and Miguasha were similar but distinct from modern communities, and Canowindra was distinct from all others. This pattern suggests period-associated differentiation and substantial heterogeneity among some Late Devonian communities. In addition to temporal changes, we found consistent differences associated with habitat type and climate zone. Reef and tropical communities were the most functionally rich, whereas functional nearest-neighbour scores were highest in estuarine and temperate communities. These results indicate fish community trait space varies with time, habitat and climate, suggesting (i) lability in fish trait space and (ii) that evolutionary history, environmental filtering, and stochasticity influence community assembly.
John Llewelyn, John A. Long, Richard Cloutier, Alice M. Clement, Giovanni Strona, Frédérik Saltré, Michael S.Y. Lee, Brian Choo, Kate Trinajstic, Olivia Vanhaesebroucke, Austin Fitzpatrick & Corey J.A. Bradshaw (2025)
Trait-space disparity in fish communities spanning 380 million years from the Late Devonian to present
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 113294
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113294
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018225005796
Highlights
The functional trait space of fish communities reflects evolutionary history, habitat, and climate.
Devonian and modern fish communities differ in their trait composition.
Trait differences imply ancient communities functioned differently.
Habitat- and climate-related patterns in functional diversity metrics are consistent across time.
Abstract
The diversity and distribution of species' traits in an ecological community determine how it functions. While modern fish communities conserve trait space across similar habitats, little is known about trait-space variation through deep time or across different habitats. We examined how fish trait diversity varies through space and time by comparing three Late Devonian fish communities — a tropical reef (Gogo, Australia), a tropical estuary (Miguasha, Canada), and a temperate freshwater system (Canowindra, Australia) — with six modern communities from diverse habitats. Trait-space metrics reflecting within-community diversity (functional richness) and species similarity (functional nearest-neighbour distance) indicated Late Devonian communities had scores similar to modern communities. However, they were less functionally rich than their closest modern analogues, and their species tended to be more functionally distinct from one another. Metrics describing location in trait space (centroid distances and hypervolume overlap) showed modern communities were similar to each other, Gogo and Miguasha were similar but distinct from modern communities, and Canowindra was distinct from all others. This pattern suggests period-associated differentiation and substantial heterogeneity among some Late Devonian communities. In addition to temporal changes, we found consistent differences associated with habitat type and climate zone. Reef and tropical communities were the most functionally rich, whereas functional nearest-neighbour scores were highest in estuarine and temperate communities. These results indicate fish community trait space varies with time, habitat and climate, suggesting (i) lability in fish trait space and (ii) that evolutionary history, environmental filtering, and stochasticity influence community assembly.
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