The postcranial anatomy of Gorgonops torvus (Synapsida, Gorgonopsia) from the late Permian of South Africa [PDF]
PeerJ, 2023 Gorgonopsians are among the most recognizable groups of synapsids from the Permian period and have an extensive but mostly cranial fossil record. By contrast, relatively little is known about their postcranial anatomy. Here, we describe a nearly complete,
Eva-Maria Bendel +3 more
doaj +6 more sources
Ontogenetic growth in the crania of Exaeretodon argentinus (Synapsida: Cynodontia) captures a dietary shift [PDF]
PeerJ, 2022 Background An ontogenetic niche shift in vertebrates is a common occurrence where ecology shifts with morphological changes throughout growth. How ecology shifts over a vertebrate’s lifetime is often reconstructed in extant species—by combining ...
Brenen Wynd +2 more
doaj +7 more sources
The earliest segmental sternum in a Permian synapsid and its implications for the evolution of mammalian locomotion and ventilation [PDF]
Scientific Reports, 2022 The sternum is a stabilizing element in the axial skeleton of most tetrapods, closely linked with the function of the pectoral girdle of the appendicular skeleton. Modern mammals have a distinctive sternum characterized by multiple ossified segments, the
Eva-Maria Bendel +4 more
doaj +2 more sources
Revisiting the evolutionary trend toward the mammalian lower jaw in non-mammalian synapsids in a phylogenetic context [PDF]
PeerJ, 2023 The mammalian lower jaw comprises a single bone, the dentary, which is a unique feature among vertebrates. The lower jaws of extinct non-mammalian synapsids were composed of the dentary and several postdentary bones. Synapsid fossils exhibit variation in
Tomohiro Harano, Masakazu Asahara
doaj +3 more sources
Range of Movement in Ray I of Manus and Pes and the Prehensility of the Autopodia in the Early Permian to Late Cretaceous Non-Anomodont Synapsida [PDF]
PLoS ONE, 2014 The mobility of ray I was analysed in seventy-eight Early Permian to Late Cretaceous specimens of non-mammalian Synapsida and one extant mammal. In all non-mammaliamorph Synapsida investigated, ray I formed a digital arcade.
Susanna B Kümmell, Eberhard Frey
exaly +2 more sources
A comprehensive phylogeny and revised taxonomy of Diadectomorpha with a discussion on the origin of tetrapod herbivory [PDF]
Royal Society Open ScienceAmong terrestrial tetrapods, the origin of herbivory marked a key evolutionary event that allowed for the evolution of modern terrestrial ecosystems. A 100 Ma gap separates the oldest terrestrial tetrapods and the first undisputed herbivorous tetrapods ...
Jasper Ponstein +2 more
doaj +2 more sources
The first non-mammalian synapsid embryo from the Triassic of South Africa. [PDF]
PLoS ONEOviparity was likely the plesiomorphic reproductive condition for non-mammalian Synapsida, the stem-mammal group. Yet, despite nearly two centuries of research, no definitive fossil eggs of late Palaeozoic or early Mesozoic synapsids have been discovered.
Julien Benoit +2 more
doaj +2 more sources
Evolution of tooth morphological complexity and its association with the position of tooth eruption in the jaw in non-mammalian synapsids [PDF]
PeerJHeterodonty and complex molar morphology are important characteristics of mammals acquired during the evolution of early mammals from non-mammalian synapsids.
Tomohiro Harano, Masakazu Asahara
doaj +3 more sources
The decline and fall of the mammalian stem [PDF]
PeerJThe mammalian crown originated during the Mesozoic and subsequently radiated into the substantial array of forms now extant. However, for about 100 million years before the crown’s origin, a diverse array of stem mammalian lineages dominated terrestrial ...
Neil Brocklehurst
doaj +3 more sources
Rethinking therapsid phylogeny through Bayesian and cladistic approaches [PDF]
Scientific ReportsTherapsids are early-diverging synapsids that thrived during the Permian and Triassic periods, and ultimately gave rise to mammals. They include six major groups, which already exhibited considerable diversity at their first appearance in the fossil ...
Alienor Duhamel +5 more
doaj +2 more sources