J. Ortega-Hernandez

Convergent evolution of ventral adaptations for enrollment in trilobites and extant euarthropods

This study identifies ventral exoskeletal adaptations in trilobites that enable enrollment, showing convergent mechanisms with extant euarthropods.

Fossil calibrations for molecular analyses and divergence time estimation for true crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura)

This paper presents 36 fossil calibration points for molecular phylogenetic analysis of crabs and reassesses the earliest occurrences of key clades to improve divergence time estimation.

Convergent adaptation of true crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura) to a gradient of terrestrial environments

This study reconstructs the evolutionary history of true crabs to understand their adaptation to terrestrial environments, finding multiple convergent transitions from marine to terrestrial lifestyles.

Before trilobite legs: Pygmaclypeatus daziensis reconsidered and the ancestral appendicular organization of Cambrian artiopods

This paper uses micro-CT to study the appendage structure of Pygmaclypeatus daziensis, revealing its heteronomy and suggesting an ancestral exopodite morphology in Artiopoda.

Anamorphic development and extended parental care in a 520 million-year-old stem-group euarthropod from China

This paper describes extended parental care in a 520-million-year-old euarthropod, providing evidence of anamorphic development and the oldest known example of this reproductive strategy in the fossil record.