Gebely A. Abu El-Kheir, Ahmed A. Shaker, Hallie P. Street, Nicholas R. Longrich, Amin Strougo, Anhar Asan, Mohamed AbdelGawad
Mosasaurs were diverse in the Upper Cretaceous in Africa, but relatively little is known about the mosasaur fauna of Egypt. Here, associated teeth and postcranial skeletal elements are reported for a mosasaur from the Maastrichtian Dakhla Shale of the Dakhla Oasis. The specimen includes tooth crowns, cervical, dorsal, and caudal vertebrae, and ribs. Teeth and bones exhibit features allowing referral to Prognathodontini. The teeth are relatively straight and blunt, suggesting affinities with Prognathodon overtoni or P. currii. Prognathodontins were important predators in the Maastrichtian of Africa, previously being recorded in Morocco, Congo, and Angola.
{"title":"A Prognathodontin Mosasaur from the Maastrichtian of the Dakhla Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt","authors":"Gebely A. Abu El-Kheir, Ahmed A. Shaker, Hallie P. Street, Nicholas R. Longrich, Amin Strougo, Anhar Asan, Mohamed AbdelGawad","doi":"10.3390/fossils1010007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/fossils1010007","url":null,"abstract":"Mosasaurs were diverse in the Upper Cretaceous in Africa, but relatively little is known about the mosasaur fauna of Egypt. Here, associated teeth and postcranial skeletal elements are reported for a mosasaur from the Maastrichtian Dakhla Shale of the Dakhla Oasis. The specimen includes tooth crowns, cervical, dorsal, and caudal vertebrae, and ribs. Teeth and bones exhibit features allowing referral to Prognathodontini. The teeth are relatively straight and blunt, suggesting affinities with Prognathodon overtoni or P. currii. Prognathodontins were important predators in the Maastrichtian of Africa, previously being recorded in Morocco, Congo, and Angola.","PeriodicalId":53694,"journal":{"name":"Fossils","volume":" 47","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135291410","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The first discovery of a dinosaur bone from the Kingdom of Cambodia is reported in this paper. It consists of a sauropod fibula from a sandstone layer on Koh Paur island, in Koh Kong province, in south-western Cambodia. The dinosaur-bearing bed belongs to the non-marine Grès Supérieurs series and is apparently of Early Cretaceous age. On the basis of various characters, notably the development of the anteromedial crest, the dinosaur fibula from Koh Paur is referred to a euhelopodid titanosauriform. This first dinosaur discovery in Cambodia suggests that the thick non-marine formations which cover vast areas in the south-western part of the country are potentially an important source of continental Mesozoic vertebrates.
{"title":"The First Dinosaur from the Kingdom of Cambodia: A Sauropod Fibula from the Lower Cretaceous of Koh Kong Province, South-Western Cambodia","authors":"Vanchan Lim, Eric Buffetaut, Haiyan Tong, Lionel Cavin, Kimchhay Pann, Phalline Polypheakdey Ngoeun","doi":"10.3390/fossils1010006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/fossils1010006","url":null,"abstract":"The first discovery of a dinosaur bone from the Kingdom of Cambodia is reported in this paper. It consists of a sauropod fibula from a sandstone layer on Koh Paur island, in Koh Kong province, in south-western Cambodia. The dinosaur-bearing bed belongs to the non-marine Grès Supérieurs series and is apparently of Early Cretaceous age. On the basis of various characters, notably the development of the anteromedial crest, the dinosaur fibula from Koh Paur is referred to a euhelopodid titanosauriform. This first dinosaur discovery in Cambodia suggests that the thick non-marine formations which cover vast areas in the south-western part of the country are potentially an important source of continental Mesozoic vertebrates.","PeriodicalId":53694,"journal":{"name":"Fossils","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135972703","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The often beautifully preserved ichthyosaurs from the early Jurassic of Britain occupy a special place in the history of palaeontology [...]
英国早侏罗纪时期保存完好的鱼龙在古生物学历史上占有特殊的地位。
{"title":"Book Review: Weedon, G.P.; Chapman, S.D. Ichthyosaurs from the Early Jurassic of Britain; Monograph Series; Siri Scientific Press: Manchester, UK, 2022; ISBN: 978-1-8381528-6-4","authors":"Eric Buffetaut","doi":"10.3390/fossils1010005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/fossils1010005","url":null,"abstract":"The often beautifully preserved ichthyosaurs from the early Jurassic of Britain occupy a special place in the history of palaeontology [...]","PeriodicalId":53694,"journal":{"name":"Fossils","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136098859","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This work explores the swimming of ammonoids, cephalopods related to living squids, octopuses, and nautilids and, like the latter, equipped with a coiled external shell. A mathematical model is introduced for theoretical ammonoid conchs. The two differential equations of motion (one for the centre of mass, including the drag force and the added mass coefficient, and one for the roll angle) are solved numerically for the theoretical conchs, and the results are analysed in terms of velocity and rocking angle. Destabilising resonances occur when the rocking motion is in phase with the propelling water jet. It is suggested that the ammonoids partly evolved avoiding the occurrence of such resonances in their construction.
{"title":"The Hydrodynamics of Ammonoid Swimming: Equations of Motion and Rocking Resonances","authors":"Fabio Vittorio De Blasio","doi":"10.3390/fossils1010004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/fossils1010004","url":null,"abstract":"This work explores the swimming of ammonoids, cephalopods related to living squids, octopuses, and nautilids and, like the latter, equipped with a coiled external shell. A mathematical model is introduced for theoretical ammonoid conchs. The two differential equations of motion (one for the centre of mass, including the drag force and the added mass coefficient, and one for the roll angle) are solved numerically for the theoretical conchs, and the results are analysed in terms of velocity and rocking angle. Destabilising resonances occur when the rocking motion is in phase with the propelling water jet. It is suggested that the ammonoids partly evolved avoiding the occurrence of such resonances in their construction.","PeriodicalId":53694,"journal":{"name":"Fossils","volume":"204 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135063369","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
N. Longrich, N. Jalil, X. Pereda-Suberbiola, N. Bardet
Mosasaurids, a clade of specialized marine squamates, saw a major adaptive radiation in the Late Cretaceous, evolving a wide range of body sizes, shapes, and specialized tooth morphologies. The most diverse known mosasaurid faunas come from the late Maastrichtian phosphates of Morocco. Here, we report an unusual new mosasaurid, Stelladens mysteriosus, based on a partial jaw and associated tooth crowns from lower Couche III phosphatic deposits at Sidi Chennane, Oulad Abdoun Basin, Morocco. Stelladens is characterized by short, triangular tooth crowns with a series of strong, elaborate, and serrated ridges on the lingual surface of the tooth, functioning as accessory carinae. Morphology of the teeth and associated jaw fragment suggest affinities with Mosasaurinae. No close analogues to the unique tooth morphology of Stelladens are known, either extant or extinct. It may have had an unusual and highly specialized diet, a specialized prey-capture strategy, or both. The diversity of mosasaurid teeth is much higher than that of plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, or extant marine mammals, and likely reflects both the ecological diversity of mosasaurids and complex developmental mechanisms responsible for tooth formation in mosasaurines. Mosasaurid diversity continued to increase up to the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary.
{"title":"Stelladens mysteriosus: A Strange New Mosasaurid (Squamata) from the Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) of Morocco","authors":"N. Longrich, N. Jalil, X. Pereda-Suberbiola, N. Bardet","doi":"10.3390/fossils1010002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/fossils1010002","url":null,"abstract":"Mosasaurids, a clade of specialized marine squamates, saw a major adaptive radiation in the Late Cretaceous, evolving a wide range of body sizes, shapes, and specialized tooth morphologies. The most diverse known mosasaurid faunas come from the late Maastrichtian phosphates of Morocco. Here, we report an unusual new mosasaurid, Stelladens mysteriosus, based on a partial jaw and associated tooth crowns from lower Couche III phosphatic deposits at Sidi Chennane, Oulad Abdoun Basin, Morocco. Stelladens is characterized by short, triangular tooth crowns with a series of strong, elaborate, and serrated ridges on the lingual surface of the tooth, functioning as accessory carinae. Morphology of the teeth and associated jaw fragment suggest affinities with Mosasaurinae. No close analogues to the unique tooth morphology of Stelladens are known, either extant or extinct. It may have had an unusual and highly specialized diet, a specialized prey-capture strategy, or both. The diversity of mosasaurid teeth is much higher than that of plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, or extant marine mammals, and likely reflects both the ecological diversity of mosasaurids and complex developmental mechanisms responsible for tooth formation in mosasaurines. Mosasaurid diversity continued to increase up to the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary.","PeriodicalId":53694,"journal":{"name":"Fossils","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41403407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jinbo Lu, S. Taiti, Sheng Li, Yuanyuan Lu, D. Zhuo, Xinpu Wang, M. Bai
A fossil of Oniscidea, Tylidae gen. et sp. indet. from Kachin amber (Cretaceous Cenomanian), Myanmar, is described here. The convex body, the cephalon with a triangular protrusion between the antennae, and pereonites 2–6 with epimera demarcated from tergites indicate that this specimen belongs to the family Tylidae, but since it is not an adult the identification of the genus and species is uncertain. This specimen has a convex body and shows an ability to conglobate, like all Tylidae. It is the first specimen of Oniscidea with a conglobation ability found in Burmese amber. Up to now, the fossil record of terrestrial isopods has included a total of 20 families and 54 records (36 species and 18 not formally identified species), 20% of which are from the Cretaceous period. These fossil records from the Cretaceous period show that terrestrial isopods were highly diversified as early as in the Cenomanian.
{"title":"First Fossil of Tylidae (Isopoda: Oniscidea) in Kachin Amber, Myanmar, with a List of All Oniscidea Fossil Records","authors":"Jinbo Lu, S. Taiti, Sheng Li, Yuanyuan Lu, D. Zhuo, Xinpu Wang, M. Bai","doi":"10.3390/fossils1010003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/fossils1010003","url":null,"abstract":"A fossil of Oniscidea, Tylidae gen. et sp. indet. from Kachin amber (Cretaceous Cenomanian), Myanmar, is described here. The convex body, the cephalon with a triangular protrusion between the antennae, and pereonites 2–6 with epimera demarcated from tergites indicate that this specimen belongs to the family Tylidae, but since it is not an adult the identification of the genus and species is uncertain. This specimen has a convex body and shows an ability to conglobate, like all Tylidae. It is the first specimen of Oniscidea with a conglobation ability found in Burmese amber. Up to now, the fossil record of terrestrial isopods has included a total of 20 families and 54 records (36 species and 18 not formally identified species), 20% of which are from the Cretaceous period. These fossil records from the Cretaceous period show that terrestrial isopods were highly diversified as early as in the Cenomanian.","PeriodicalId":53694,"journal":{"name":"Fossils","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41698306","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fossils—A New Open Access Journal","authors":"E. Buffetaut","doi":"10.3390/fossils1010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/fossils1010001","url":null,"abstract":"As the British author H [...]","PeriodicalId":53694,"journal":{"name":"Fossils","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48743441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}