[dinosaur] Mammalian vertebral column evolution + amphicyonids from Egypt (free pdfs)

Ben Creisler
[email protected]

Some non-dino mammals papers with free pdfs...

Katrina E. Jones, Kenneth D. Angielczyk & Stephanie E. Pierce  (2019)
Stepwise shifts underlie evolutionary trends in morphological complexity of
the mammalian vertebral column.
Nature Communications 10, Article number: 5071
doi:  https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1038_s41467-2D019-2D13026-2D3&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=dbmCZ52WRNOoXIXrQzL1aVIDglOnbdyV6aQ3YjItfGo&s=oHbnk5n9m6mZ0m-NuNSjA-JXrJ6Ux3x1e7etOsZVfMw&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nature.com_articles_s41467-2D019-2D13026-2D3&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=dbmCZ52WRNOoXIXrQzL1aVIDglOnbdyV6aQ3YjItfGo&s=sPqIITszs5B23lJulg1SFOWHPD_TzvRaFVt5NvlE4ZA&e= 
Free pdf:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nature.com_articles_s41467-2D019-2D13026-2D3.pdf&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=dbmCZ52WRNOoXIXrQzL1aVIDglOnbdyV6aQ3YjItfGo&s=cAJiWfNCUu9Di_nx6PHIne7ZSjqxdFfm1ZyceN1UUuU&e= 


A fundamental concept in evolutionary biology is that life tends to become
more complex through geologic time, but empirical examples of this
phenomenon are controversial. One debate is whether increasing complexity
is the result of random variations, or if there are evolutionary processes
which actively drive its acquisition, and if these processes act uniformly
across clades. The mammalian vertebral column provides an opportunity to
test these hypotheses because it is composed of serially-repeating
vertebrae for which complexity can be readily measured. Here we test seven
competing hypotheses for the evolution of vertebral complexity by
incorporating fossil data from the mammal stem lineage into evolutionary
models. Based on these data, we reject Brownian motion (a random walk) and
uniform increasing trends in favor of stepwise shifts for explaining
increasing complexity. We hypothesize that increased aerobic capacity in
non-mammalian cynodonts may have provided impetus for increasing vertebral
complexity in mammals.

***
News:

Mammals' complex spines are linked to high metabolisms; we're learning how
they evolved

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__phys.org_news_2019-2D11-2Dmammals-2Dcomplex-2Dspines-2Dlinked-2Dhigh.html&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=dbmCZ52WRNOoXIXrQzL1aVIDglOnbdyV6aQ3YjItfGo&s=oZAPKIo_JBty8yLlT1qAsLHIYncIm6JDgYTvCj7oavI&e= 

Also, not yet mentioned:

Q&A with a Fossil Mammals Curator KENNETH ANGIELCZYK

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.fieldmuseum.org_blog_qa-2Dfossil-2Dmammals-2Dcurator&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=dbmCZ52WRNOoXIXrQzL1aVIDglOnbdyV6aQ3YjItfGo&s=FlUdQdQeh6veBu8LarRQe1G0ifRXtEin1_ONNIJuEq8&e= 

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Free pdf:

Michael MORLO, Ellen R. MILLER, Katharina BASTL, Mohamed Korany ABDELGAWAD,
Mohammed HAMDAN, Ahmed N. EL-BARKOOKY & Doris NAGEL (2019)
New Amphicyonids (Mammalia, Carnivora) from Moghra, Early Miocene, Egypt.
GEODIVERSITAS 41(21): 731-745
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.5252_geodiversitas2019v41a21&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=dbmCZ52WRNOoXIXrQzL1aVIDglOnbdyV6aQ3YjItfGo&s=gvXBRqxNiiTTF8BDw1jnouEZbjQ3Dr9FyQPMkMBlkOs&e= .
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__sciencepress.mnhn.fr_en_periodiques_geodiversitas_41_21&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=dbmCZ52WRNOoXIXrQzL1aVIDglOnbdyV6aQ3YjItfGo&s=mX9mxRsAxE8OtcCcDi3yh3LFv7ev2KEM39FichTMmCY&e= 

Free pdf:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__sciencepress.mnhn.fr_sites_default_files_articles_pdf_g2019v41a21.pdf&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=dbmCZ52WRNOoXIXrQzL1aVIDglOnbdyV6aQ3YjItfGo&s=3cQutE171dPUkBSIR-1SxrYTPpGKIf7njbEMY55BQaM&e= 

This article is a part of the thematic issue Memorial to Stéphane Peigné –
Carnivores (Hyaenodonta and Carnivora) of the Cenozoic

We describe two large amphicyonid (Amphicyonidae, Carnivora) mandibles from
Moghra, Early Miocene, Egypt. One of these represents a new species of
Cynelos Jourdan, 1862, which is in the same size range as C. macrodon
(Savage, 1965) and C. ginsburgi n. comb., but exhibits a relatively longer
m1 paraconid blade. The other is allocated to Amphicyon giganteus (Schinz,
1825). Based on this new material the differences between Cynelos,
Amphicyon Lartet in Michelin, 1836, and Afrocyon Arambourg, 1961 are
clarified. We also reassign three (P4, M1, M2) of four isolated and
unassociated amphicyonid teeth from Moghra, previously attributed to
"Cynelos sp. nov." to Amphicyon giganteus. These teeth represent the first
record of the upper dentition of A. giganteus from Africa. Enhanced
diagnoses of Cynelos and Amphicyon also permit the reallocation of some
other previously described specimens to these taxa. These include:
assignment of  "Amphicyon sp." and an isolated m2 previously identified as
“Afrocyon burolleti Arambourg, 1961” from Gebel Zelten, Libya, to the new
species of Cynelos; allocation of “Ysengrinia” ginsburgi from Arrisdrift,
South Africa, to Cynelos ginsburgi n. comb.; and attribution of a giant
undescribed additional species from Buluk, Kenya to Cynelos sp. Other
specific specimens from Gebel Zelten and Kenya, currently assigned to
Afrocyon, are also transferred to either Cynelos or Amphicyon. Results from
this study, combined with previous work on the Moghra carnivores, suggests
that at least three and perhaps as many as four very large carnivorous
genera co-existed at Moghra: Cynelos, Amphicyon, Hyainailouros Stehlin,
1907 and possibly Megistotherium Savage, 1973. These giants represent the
top predators of the Early Miocene of Africa, with Cynelos being more
carnivorous, and Amphicyon, Hyainailouros and Megistotherium having more
developed bone-crushing capabilities.