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Article

Palaeontological evidence for an Oligocene divergence between Old World monkeys and apes

Stevens, Nancy J ; Seiffert, Erik R ; O'Connor, Patrick M ; [et al.]

2013

ISSN: 0028-0836

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Language: English

In: Nature (London), 2013-05-30, Vol.497 (7451), p.611-614

Description: Apes and Old World monkeys are prominent components of modern African and Asian ecosystems, yet the earliest phases of their evolutionary history have remained largely undocumented. The absence of crown catarrhine fossils older than ∼20 million years (Myr) has stood in stark contrast to molecular divergence estimates of ∼25-30 Myr for the split between Cercopithecoidea (Old World monkeys) and Hominoidea (apes), implying long ghost lineages for both clades. Here we describe the oldest known fossil 'ape', represented by a partial mandible preserving dental features that place it with 'nyanzapithecine' stem hominoids. Additionally, we report the oldest stem member of the Old World monkey clade, represented by a lower third molar. Both specimens were recovered from a precisely dated 25.2-Myr-old stratum in the Rukwa Rift, a segment of the western branch of the East African Rift in Tanzania. These finds extend the fossil record of apes and Old World monkeys well into the Oligocene epoch of Africa, suggesting a possible link between diversification of crown catarrhines and changes in the African landscape brought about by previously unrecognized tectonic activity in the East African rift system.

Subject(s): Hominidae - anatomy & histology ; History, Ancient ; Animals ; Mandible - anatomy & histology ; Cercopithecidae - classification ; Tanzania ; Cercopithecidae - anatomy & histology ; Phylogeny ; Tooth - anatomy & histology ; Hominidae - classification ; Fossils ; Apes ; Divergent evolution ; Old-World monkeys ; Research ; Observations ; Paleontology ; Natural history ; Index Medicus

ISSN: 0028-0836

E-ISSN: 1476-4687

DOI: 10.1038/nature12161

Source: Academic Search Ultimate

Source: Alma/SFX Local Collection

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Article

New sharks and other chondrichthyans from the latest Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) of North America

Gates, Terry A ; Gorscak, Eric ; Makovicky, Peter J

2019

ISSN: 0022-3360

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Language: English

In: Journal of paleontology, 2019-05, Vol.93 (3), p.512-530

Description: Cretaceous aquatic ecosystems were amazingly diverse, containing most clades of extant aquatic vertebrates as well as an array of sharks and rays not present today. Here we report on the chondrichthyan fauna from the late Maastrichtian site that yielded the Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton FMNH PF 2081 (“SUE”). Significant among the recovered fauna is an unidentified species of carcharhinid shark that adds to the fossil record of this family in the Cretaceous, aligning with estimates from molecular evidence of clade originations. Additionally, a new orectolobiform shark, here named Galagadon nordquistae n. gen. n. sp., is diagnosed on the basis on several autapomorphies from over two-dozen teeth. Common chondrichthyan species found at the “SUE” locality include Lonchidion selachos and Myledaphus pustulosus. Two phylogenetic analyses (Maximum Parsimony and Bayesian Inference) based on twelve original dental character traits combined with 136 morphological traits from a prior study of 28 fossil and extant taxa, posited Galagadon n. gen. in two distinct positions: as part of a clade inclusive of the fossil species Cretorectolobus olsoni and Cederstroemia triangulata plus extant orectolobids from the Maximum Parsimony analysis; and as the sister taxon to all extant hemiscyllids from the Bayesian Inference. Model-based biogeographical reconstructions based on both optimal trees suggest rapid island hopping-style dispersal from the Western Pacific to the Western Interior Seaway of North America where Galagadon n. gen. lived. Alternatively, the next preferred model posits a broader, near-global distribution of Orectolobiformes with Galagadon n. gen. dispersing into its geographic position from this large ancestral range. UUID: http://zoobank.org/61e32ffc-4f87-4ff7-820d-0bb33a80f0a0

Subject(s): Articles ; Mesozoic ; Chordata ; Galagadon nordquistae ; United States ; vertebrate ; taxonomy ; North America ; upper Maestrichtian ; Maestrichtian ; Elasmobranchii ; teeth ; Myledaphus pustulosus ; Upper Cretaceous ; Hell Creek Formation ; morphology ; biogeography ; cladistics ; Lonchidion selachos ; South Dakota ; Cretaceous ; Paleontology ; Ziebach County South Dakota ; Vertebrata ; new taxa ; phylogeny ; Chondrichthyes ; Dupree South Dakota

ISSN: 0022-3360

E-ISSN: 1937-2337

DOI: 10.1017/jpa.2018.92

Source: Cambridge Journals

Source: Alma/SFX Local Collection

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Article

A new African Titanosaurian Sauropod Dinosaur from the middle Cretaceous Galula Formation (Mtuka Member), Rukwa Rift Basin, Southwestern Tanzania

Gorscak, Eric ; O'Connor, Patrick M

2019

ISSN: 1932-6203

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Language: English

In: PloS one, 2019, Vol.14 (2), p.e0211412-e0211412

Description: The African terrestrial fossil record has been limited in its contribution to our understanding of both regional and global Cretaceous paleobiogeography, an interval of significant geologic and macroevolutionary change. A common component in Cretaceous African faunas, titanosaurian sauropods diversified into one of the most specious groups of dinosaurs worldwide. Here we describe the new titanosaurian Mnyamawamtuka moyowamkia gen. et sp. nov. from the Mtuka Member of the Galula Formation in southwest Tanzania. The new specimen preserves teeth, elements from all regions of the postcranial axial skeleton, parts of both appendicular girdles, and portions of both limbs including a complete metatarsus. Unique traits of M. moyowamkia include the lack of an interpostzygapophyseal lamina in posterior dorsal vertebrae, pronounced posterolateral expansion of middle caudal centra, and an unusually small sternal plate. Phylogenetic analyses consistently place M. moyowamkia as either a close relative to lithostrotian titanosaurians (e.g., parsimony, uncalibrated Bayesian analyses) or as a lithostrotian and sister taxon to Malawisaurus dixeyi from the nearby Aptian? Dinosaur Beds of Malawi (e.g., tip-dating Bayesian analyses). M. moyowamkia shares a few features with M. dixeyi, including semi-spatulate teeth and a median lamina between the neural canal and interpostzygapophyseal lamina in anterior dorsal vertebrae. Both comparative morphology and phylogenetic analyses support Mnyamawamtuka as a distinct and distant relative to Rukwatitan bisepultus and Shingopana songwensis from the younger Namba Member of the Galula Formation with these results largely congruent with newly constrained ages for the Mtuka Member (Aptian-Cenomanian) and Namba Member (Campanian). Coupled with recent discoveries from the Dahkla Oasis, Egypt (e.g., Mansourasaurus shahinae) and other parts of continental Afro-Arabia, the Tanzania titanosaurians refine perspectives on the development of African terrestrial faunas throughout the Cretaceous-a critical step in understanding non-marine paleobiogeographic patterns of Africa that have remained elusive until the past few years.

Subject(s): Bone and Bones - anatomy & histology ; Animals ; Dinosaurs - classification ; Tanzania ; Terminology as Topic ; Metatarsus - anatomy & histology ; Phylogeny ; Tooth - anatomy & histology ; Spine - anatomy & histology ; Fossils ; Index Medicus ; Medicine and Health Sciences ; Earth Sciences ; Biology and Life Sciences ; Computer and Information Sciences ; Dinosaurs ; Vertebrae ; Terrestrial environments ; Teeth ; Vertebra ; Metatarsus ; Cretaceous ; Bone (axial) ; Paleobiogeography ; Morphology ; Phylogenetics ; New species ; Girdles ; Osteopathic medicine ; Bayesian analysis

ISSN: 1932-6203

E-ISSN: 1932-6203

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211412

Source: Academic Search Ultimate

Source: PubMed Central

Source: Directory of Open Access Journals

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Article

New Egyptian sauropod reveals Late Cretaceous dinosaur dispersal between Europe and Africa

Sallam, Hesham M ; Gorscak, Eric ; O'Connor, Patrick M ; [et al.]

2018

ISSN: 2397-334X

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Language: English

In: Nature ecology & evolution, 2018-03, Vol.2 (3), p.445-451

Description: Prominent hypotheses advanced over the past two decades have sought to characterize the Late Cretaceous continental vertebrate palaeobiogeography of Gondwanan landmasses, but have proved difficult to test because terrestrial vertebrates from the final ~30 million years of the Mesozoic are extremely rare and fragmentary on continental Africa (including the then-conjoined Arabian Peninsula but excluding the island of Madagascar). Here we describe a new titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur, Mansourasaurus shahinae gen. et sp. nov., from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Quseir Formation of the Dakhla Oasis of the Egyptian Western Desert. Represented by an associated partial skeleton that includes cranial elements, Mansourasaurus is the most completely preserved land-living vertebrate from the post-Cenomanian Cretaceous (~94-66 million years ago) of the African continent. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that Mansourasaurus is nested within a clade of penecontemporaneous titanosaurians from southern Europe and eastern Asia, thereby providing the first unambiguous evidence for a post-Cenomanian Cretaceous continental vertebrate clade that inhabited both Africa and Europe. The close relationship of Mansourasaurus to coeval Eurasian titanosaurians indicates that terrestrial vertebrate dispersal occurred between Eurasia and northern Africa after the tectonic separation of the latter from South America ~100 million years ago. These findings counter hypotheses that dinosaur faunas of the African mainland were completely isolated during the post-Cenomanian Cretaceous.

Subject(s): Dinosaurs - anatomy & histology ; Animals ; Dinosaurs - classification ; Dinosaurs - physiology ; Europe ; Africa ; Egypt ; Animal Distribution ; Phylogeny ; Fossils - anatomy & histology ; Paleontology ; Cenozoic Era ; Dinosaurs ; Mesozoic ; Terrestrial environments ; Cretaceous ; Tectonics ; Dispersion ; Fossils ; Gondwana ; Vertebrates ; Hypotheses ; Dispersal ; Phylogenetics ; New species ; Index Medicus

ISSN: 2397-334X

E-ISSN: 2397-334X

DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0455-5

Source: ProQuest Central

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Article

Time-calibrated models support congruency between Cretaceous continental rifting and titanosaurian evolutionary history

Gorscak, Eric ; O'Connor, Patrick M

2016

ISSN: 1744-9561

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Language: English

In: Biology letters (2005), 2016-04, Vol.12 (4), p.20151047

Description: Recent model-based phylogenetic approaches have expanded upon the incorporation of extinct lineages and their respective temporal information for calibrating divergence date estimates. Here, model-based methods are explored to estimate divergence dates and ancestral ranges for titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs, an extinct and globally distributed terrestrial clade that existed during the extensive Cretaceous supercontinental break-up. Our models estimate an Early Cretaceous (approx. 135 Ma) South American origin for Titanosauria. The estimated divergence dates are broadly congruent with Cretaceous geophysical models of supercontinental separation and subsequent continental isolation while obviating the invocation of continuous Late Cretaceous continental connections (e.g. ephemeral land bridges). Divergence dates for mid-Cretaceous African and South American sister lineages support semi-isolated subequatorial African faunas in concordance with the gradual northward separation between South America and Africa. Finally, Late Cretaceous Africa may have linked Laurasian lineages with their sister South American lineages, though the current Late Cretaceous African terrestrial fossil record remains meagre.

Subject(s): Biological Evolution ; Geography ; Animals ; Dinosaurs - classification ; Time Factors ; Models, Biological ; Phylogeny ; Fossils ; Index Medicus ; 144 ; Fossils in Trees ; 1001 ; phylogenetics ; Titanosauria ; palaeobiogeography ; 183 ; Gondwana

ISSN: 1744-9561

E-ISSN: 1744-957X

DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.1047

Source: PubMed Central

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Dissertation

Descriptive and Comparative Morphology of African Titanosaurian Sauropods: New Information on the Evolution of Cretaceous African Continental Faunas

Gorscak, Eric

2016

ISBN: 9781369591347 ISBN: 1369591349

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Language: English

Description: Continental Africa has been proposed to play a significant role in the evolution and distributional patterns of continental faunas during the tectonically active Cretaceous Period. Yet, the African continental fossil record pales in comparison to other Gondwanan landmasses (e.g. South America) for providing ample evidence to inform faunal patterns and paleobiogeographical scenarios. Reflecting this unevenness, the globally successful titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs are underrepresented in the African fossil record with a handful of named and fragmentary forms known mostly from the middle Cretaceous (Aptian–Cenomanian). New research in sub-Saharan Africa is providing critical information regarding titanosaurian diversification within the middle and Late Cretaceous and characterizing African faunas more generally. The re-evaluation of specimens from the Aptian Dinosaur Beds of Malawi reveals that materials historically associated with Malawisaurus dixeyi represents at least two distinct morphs with affinities to coeval South American forms. Further, several new specimens from the geographically proximate middle Cretaceous Galula Formation of Tanzania are distinct from the Malawi forms, suggesting higher diversity for sub-Saharan African faunas than previously appreciated. A specimen from the Mtuka Member of the Galula Formation represents one of the most complete early titanosaurian skeletons known, whereas another specimen from the Namba Member has affinities with Late Cretaceous aeolosaurian titanosaurians known from South America. Finally, titanosaurian materials from the Maastrichtian Lapurr Sandstones of Kenya and Campanian Quseir Formation of Egypt provide valuable insight for characterizing the largely unknown terminal Cretaceous African fauna. The new Kenyan form has close affinities with Late Cretaceous South American saltasaurian titanosaurians and additional caudal vertebral specimens indicate the presence of several distinct and gigantic forms that may include a non-titanosaurian sauropod—a first for this time interval globally. However, the Egyptian form appears to be closely related to Laurasian forms, supporting the interpretation of a trans-Tethys province. The diversity of African titanosaurian evolutionary history broadly paralleled that in South America during the Cretaceous but with the development of a progressively isolated sub-Saharan region concurrent with the tectonics-driven separation of the two landmasses until the Late Cretaceous when the fauna included remanent early-branching lineages not present elsewhere worldwide.

Subject(s): Paleontology

ISBN: 9781369591347

ISBN: 1369591349

Source: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global

URL: View record in ProQuest$$FView record in $$GProQuest

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