[dinosaur] Giant Eocene penguin Anthropornis skull + diplodactyloid gecko lizards

Ben Creisler
[email protected]


Some recent non-dino papers:

Carolina Acosta Hospitaleche, Nadia Haidr, Ariana Paulina-Carabajal &
Marcelo Reguero (2019)
The first skull of Anthropornis grandis (Aves, Sphenisciformes) associated
with postcranial elements.
Comptes Rendus Palevol (advance online publication)
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1016_j.crpv.2019.06.003&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=icrGOGpsokVB7IqqEjWF6WhuF491YM4j2QkKdrxKO0s&s=dHSakbdcktd0hYb2GiRp8Ye4_c61QtzyE0PRWoicFZs&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.sciencedirect.com_science_article_abs_pii_S1631068319301265&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=icrGOGpsokVB7IqqEjWF6WhuF491YM4j2QkKdrxKO0s&s=xctcLwAa3czLaoGaDKNBFM8QozTh3pplSUrkmPgUDQI&e= 


Associated penguin remains found in Bartonian levels of the Submeseta
Formation (Seymour Island, Antarctica), including cranium and mandible,
both partial tarsometatarsi, and some other fragmentary bones, are analyzed
here. This specimen preserves the first cranium reliably assigned to the
giant form Anthropornis grandis, and constitutes the first opportunity to
taxonomically assign a cranial material to any of the Antarctic penguin
species. A discussion of the diet preferences and feeding mechanisms of A.
grandis is supported here by three-dimensional paleoneurological and
cranial-jaw muscular reconstructions. We propose that A. grandis was a
penguin with a voluminous musculature strongly attached to the neck and
skull, adapted to chase and hunt fish during diving.

=================


Phillip L. Skipwith, Ke Bi & Paul M.Oliver (2019)
Relicts and radiations: Phylogenomics of an Australasian lizard clade with
east Gondwanan origins (Gekkota: Diplodactyloidea).
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 140:106589
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1016_j.ympev.2019.106589&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=icrGOGpsokVB7IqqEjWF6WhuF491YM4j2QkKdrxKO0s&s=v0H3zE9N43m9raiSmA11A3YbExNzimWfpb-F9AxD30A&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.sciencedirect.com_science_article_pii_S1055790319302027&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=icrGOGpsokVB7IqqEjWF6WhuF491YM4j2QkKdrxKO0s&s=Kgl-Q4KYGkSRaP19sHGWML2wTKYlzwg-wlBO1_Fu3J4&e= 

Highlights

UCEs resolve nearly all problematic relationships of diplodactyloid geckos.
Phylogenomic estimates do not reaffirm previously proposed relationships.
Molecular dating confirms young crown ages of Tasmantis diplodactylids
relative.
No mass extinction event associated with Eocene-Oligocene cooling detected.
Tail morphology suggests that the environment has influenced tail shape
extensively.

Abstract

Australasia harbors very high squamate diversity and is a center of
endemicity for a number of major lineages. However, despite this diversity,
the diplodactyloid geckos of Australia, New Caledonia, and New Zealand
(comprised of three endemic families and >200 species) are the only extant
squamates with unequivocal Mesozoic origins in the region. Diplodactyloid
geckos also exhibit notable phenotypic and ecological diversity, most
strikingly illustrated by the functionally limbless pygopods. Here, we
present the first phylogenomic analyses of the pattern and timing of
diplodactyloid evolution, based on a dataset of more than 4000
ultraconserved elements (UCEs) from 180 species. These analyses fully
resolve nearly all nodes, including a number of intergeneric relationships
that have proven problematic in previous studies. The hypothesis that New
Caledonia and New Zealand clades represent independent post-KT boundary
colonization events of Tasmantis from Australian ancestors is confirmed.
Phylogenetic relationships recovered here further highlight contrasting
patterns of diversity, most strikingly between insular and/or
morphologically highly derived clades that have diversified rapidly, as
opposed to other species poor and phylogenetically divergent relictual
lineages on mainland Australia. Our new timetree suggests slightly older
branching times than previous analyses and does not find a mass extinction
event in the early Cenozoic. Finally, our new phylogeny highlights caudal
variation across the clade. Most strikingly, the distinctive leaf-tail
morphology shown by one family may in fact be plesiomorphic.

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