Results 21 to 30 of about 268 (118)

Whole-body endothermy: ancient, homologous and widespread among the ancestors of mammals, birds and crocodylians. [PDF]

Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc, 2022
ABSTRACT The whole‐body (tachymetabolic) endothermy seen in modern birds and mammals is long held to have evolved independently in each group, a reasonable assumption when it was believed that its earliest appearances in birds and mammals arose many millions of years apart.
Grigg G, Nowack J, Bicudo JEPW, Bal NC, Woodward HN, Seymour RS.   +5 more
europepmc   +2 more sources

Review of the tetrapod skull-neck boundary: implications for the evolution of the atlas-axis complex. [PDF]

Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc
ABSTRACT This review describes variation in modern and fossil occiput–atlas–axis complex anatomy of total group Tetrapoda with the aim of documenting the range of structural variation throughout their evolutionary history to establish grounds for comparison of the complex between tetrapod clades.
Korneisel DE, Maddin HC.
europepmc   +2 more sources

Hypercanines: Not just for sabertooths. [PDF]

Anat Rec (Hoboken)
Abstract Hypercanines are here defined as hypertrophied caniniform teeth, that is, canine teeth that are elongated to serve specific functions in different clades of mammals and their synapsid ancestors. This article presents an overview of the occurrence of hypercanines, their growth, and their function across a broad range of clades.
Werdelin L.
europepmc   +2 more sources

Sharpening our understanding of saber-tooth biomechanics. [PDF]

Anat Rec (Hoboken)
Abstract Saber‐teeth are a striking example of convergent evolution in vertebrate predators, having evolved multiple times in mammals and their early ancestors. While there is broad consensus that saber‐toothed taxa employed a distinct biting strategy compared to conical‐toothed carnivores, like the lion, the precise mechanics and variability of this ...
Pollock T, Anderson PSL.
europepmc   +2 more sources

Growing sabers: Mandibular shape and biomechanical performance trajectories during the ontogeny of Smilodon fatalis. [PDF]

Anat Rec (Hoboken)
Abstract The evolution of organisms can be studied through the lens of developmental systems, as the timing of development of morphological features is an important aspect to consider when studying a phenotype. Such data can be challenging to obtain in fossil amniotes owing to the scarcity of their fossil record. However, the numerous remains of Rancho
Chatar N, Boman R, Fischer V, Segura V, Julémont C, Tseng ZJ.   +5 more
europepmc   +2 more sources

Palaeohistology of Macrospondylus bollensis (Crocodylomorpha: Thalattosuchia: Teleosauroidea) from the Posidonienschiefer Formation (Toarcian) of Germany, with insights into life history and ecology. [PDF]

Anat Rec (Hoboken)
Abstract The Posidonienschiefer Formation of southern Germany has yielded an array of incredible fossil vertebrates. One of the best represented clades therein is Teleosauroidea, a successful thalattosuchian crocodylomorph group that dominated the coastlines.
Johnson MM, Scheyer TM, Canoville A, Maxwell EE.   +3 more
europepmc   +2 more sources

Nasal turbinates of the dicynodont Kawingasaurus fossilis and the possible impact of the fossorial habitat on the evolution of endothermy

Journal of Morphology, Volume 284, Issue 9, September 2023., 2023
Neutron tomography of a skull of the burrower Kawingasaurus fossilis (Synapsida, Dicynodontia) revealed a system of turbinal ridges for attachment of respiratory and olfactory turbinates including remains of turbinates in the nasal cavity that strongly resemble the mammalian bauplan.
Michael Laaß, Anders Kaestner
wiley   +1 more source

Overlooked or Unimportant? An Overview of the Coprolite Collections at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Curator: The Museum Journal, Volume 66, Issue 1, Page 149-164, January 2023., 2023
Abstract Fossilized feces, termed coprolites, provide unique information on digestive systems, diets, and ecosystems of extinct animals, and are potentially useful for palynology, biostratigraphy and preservation of animal and plant remains. Despite this broad utility, scientific enquiry into coprolites has been relatively sparse.
Bernhard Zipfel, Chandele Montgomery, Frank H. Neumann, Louis Scott, Jonah Choiniere, John P. Hancox   +5 more
wiley   +1 more source

Feeding habits of the Middle Triassic pseudosuchian Batrachotomus kupferzellensis from Germany and palaeoecological implications for archosaurs

Palaeontology, Volume 65, Issue 3, May/June 2022., 2022
Abstract Bite traces on fossil bones are key to deciphering feeding ecology and trophic interactions of vertebrate past ecosystems. However, similarities between traces produced by different carnivorous taxa with similar dentitions, and misidentifications due to equifinality, hinder confident identifications of the bite makers.
Eudald Mujal, Christian Foth, Erin E. Maxwell, Dieter Seegis, Rainer R. Schoch, David Button   +5 more
wiley   +1 more source

Aspects of the gorgonopsian paleobiology: insights from the basicranium, occiput, osseous labyrinth and neuroanatomy of the immature gorgonopsian skull of Aloposaurus gracilis (Therapsida: Theriodontia: Gorgonopsia)

, 2016
Synapsida, the clade including therapsids and thus also mammals, is one of the two major branches of amniotes. Organismal design, with modularity as a concept, offers insights into the evolution of therapsids, a group that experienced profound anatomical transformations throughout the past 270Ma, eventually leading to the evolution of the mammalian ...
Araujo, Ricardo M, Fernandez, Vincent, Polcyn, Michael J, Fröbisch, Jörg, Martins, Rui M.S.   +4 more
openaire   +2 more sources