Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology

The Longest 3D-preserved Plumage Reveals Stepwise Pennaceous Feather Evolution

The paper describes a 105 mm-long pennaceous feather from Burmese amber, showing advanced branching but incomplete tissue differentiation, suggesting asynchronous evolution of feather structures.

Surface area calculations of lamellar support respiratory function of trilobite exopodites

The paper calculates the surface area of lamellae in trilobite exopodites and finds it increases exponentially with body size, supporting their function as respiratory structures.

A morphometric approach to the taxonomic dilemma of Zonozoe drabowiensis Barrande, 1872 and Zonoscutum solum Chlupá&ccaron, 1999 (Upper Ordovician, Czech Republic)

This study uses morphometric analysis to resolve a long-standing taxonomic debate about two Upper Ordovician arthropods, placing them within Vicissicaudata.

Cretaceous crocodyliform reconciles conflicting evidence on the Mesozoic paleogeography of Europe during the Gondwana-Laurasia split

This paper reanalyzes the phylogenetic placement of Doratodon carcharidens and other Cretaceous crocodyliforms, challenging the Eurogondwana hypothesis and supporting an earlier Gondwana-Laurasia split.

Reinterpretation of Bakiribu waridza from the Romualdo Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of Brazil: a fish not a pterosaur

The paper reinterprets fossil remains previously identified as a pterosaur as part of a fish's gill arch apparatus, highlighting a historical misidentification similar to a mid-20th-century case.

Mandibular morphology clarifies phylogenetic relationships near the origin of crown birds

Mandibular µCT reconstructions favour galliform-like, not palaeognath, affinities for Asteriornis; Vegavis and pelagornithid jaws lack key galloanseran synapomorphies and instead share features with stem bird Ichthyornis.

Limb proportions predict aquatic habits and soft-tissue flippers in extinct amniotes

Gordon et al. use a phylogenetic machine-learning approach to predict soft-tissue flippers and aquatic habits in extinct amniotes with >90% accuracy using limb proportions.

Constraints and adaptations in crocodyliform skull evolution

This study compares the biomechanical performance of oreinirostral and platyrostral crocodyliform skulls, finding oreinirostral morphologies better suited for resisting feeding forces due to reduced hydrodynamic constraints.

Soft tissue constraints on joint mobility in the avian shoulder

The paper models ligamentous constraints on avian shoulder mobility using an in silico approach and validates it with ex vivo measurements to improve estimates of joint function in extinct vertebrates.

Estimating ancestral states of complex characters: a case study on the evolution of feathers

This study compares ancestral state estimation methods for feather evolution, finding that tree time scaling, outgroup selection, and model choice significantly affect results.

Tongue bite apparatus highlights functional innovation in a 310-million-year-old ray-finned fish

This paper describes the oldest known tongue bite apparatus in a 310-million-year-old ray-finned fish, highlighting functional innovation in early actinopterygians.

EVOLUTIONARY ASSEMBLY OF CROWN REPTILE ANATOMY CLARIFIED BY LATE PALEOZOIC RELATIVES OF NEODIAPSIDA

Synchrotron microtomography and a 167-taxon phylogenetic matrix place Millerettidae as sister to Neodiapsida (forming Parapleurota), dismantling Parareptilia and Eureptilia while dating tympanic hearing to the middle Permian.

A pancrustacean brain and its visual systems define a Cambrian great appendage arthropod.

This paper describes the neural anatomy of Jianfengia multisegmentalis, a Cambrian stem euarthropod, and shows its similarities to modern Pancrustacea.

A new tuna specimen (Genus Auxis) from the Duho Formation (Miocene) of South Korea

The paper describes a new tuna specimen from the Miocene Duho Formation in South Korea, assigned to the genus Auxis, and discusses its paleoenvironmental implications.

An extinct clade sister to Eumetazoa: On the phylogeny of the Cambrian chancelloriids

This study describes new fossils of chancelloriids, revealing their unique body plan and suggesting they are a basal clade sister to eumetazoans.

Iridescent structural coloration in a crested Cretaceous enantiornithine bird from Jehol Biota

The paper estimates the iridescent color range of a Cretaceous bird's crest feathers using fossil melanosome structure and modeling, suggesting a signaling and behavioral function.

The lower jaw of Devonian ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii): anatomy, relationships, and functional morphology

This study examines the lower jaw morphology of Devonian ray-finned fishes using XCT, revealing new anatomical data and functional diversity.

A Portrait of a Young Fish: Redescription of Pteronisculus gunnari (Nielsen, 1942) from a juvenile specimen from the Early Triassic of East Greenland, with implications for ontogenetic development in early actinopterygians

This paper redescribes a juvenile specimen of Pteronisculus gunnari, revealing new anatomical features and insights into ontogenetic development in early actinopterygians.

The tetrapod fauna of the upper Permian Naobaogou Formation of China: a new mid-sized pareiasaur Yinshanosaurus angustus gen. et sp. nov. and its implication for the phylogenetic relationship of pareiasaurs

This study describes a new pareiasaur species, Yinshanosaurus angustus, from the upper Permian of China and provides new insights into the phylogenetic relationships of pareiasaurs.

An extraordinary larval-like teleost fish from the Eocene of Bolca

The paper describes a new fossil fish species from the Eocene, highlighting its unique larval-like features and its placement within teleost diversity.

Cryptovaranoides is not a squamate

This paper challenges the classification of the fossil Cryptovaranoides microlanius as a crown squamate, highlighting issues with the morphological analysis supporting this claim.

Reassessment of body temperature and thermoregulation strategies in Mesozoic marine reptiles

This paper reassesses body temperatures and thermoregulation strategies of Mesozoic marine reptiles using oxygen isotope data, finding ichthyosaurs were homeothermic endotherms, plesiosaurs likely poikilothermic endotherms, and metriorhynchids poikilothermic with limited endothermy.

A new metoposaurid (Temnospondyli) bonebed from the lower Popo Agie Formation (Carnian, Triassic) and an assessment of skeletal sorting in temnospondyls

Nobby Knob, a Carnian bonebed in Wyoming's lower Popo Agie Formation, records an autochthonous, weakly sorted mass mortality of the metoposaurid Buettnererpeton bakeri (MNI 19).

Three-dimensional fossils of a Cretaceous collared carpet shark (Parascylliidae, Orectolobiformes) shed light on skeletal evolution in galeomorphs

This paper describes three-dimensional Cretaceous shark fossils that provide insights into the skeletal evolution of galeomorph sharks.

The influence of soft tissue volume on estimates of skeletal pneumaticity: implications for fossil archosaurs

The paper compares estimated air space proportion (ASP) with true air space proportion (ASPt) in birds, finding ASPt is significantly lower, highlighting the need to account for soft tissue volume in skeletal pneumaticity studies.

Convincing Evidence of Carnivorous Diet in Alvarezsaurian Dinosaur

The paper presents the first direct dietary evidence for alvarezsaurians, showing carnivorous diet through analysis of fossilized intestinal contents.

Towards a comprehensive anatomical matrix for crown birds: phylogenetic insights from the pectoral girdle and forelimb skeleton

This study identifies phylogenetically informative characters in the pectoral girdle and forelimb skeleton of extant birds, highlighting challenges in morphological phylogenetics and the utility of combining morphology with molecular data.

Developmentally Incomplete Barb Rami Increased the Morphological Diversity of Early Feathers

The paper analyzes feather morphology from Burmese amber, showing developmentally incomplete barb rami in early feathers, suggesting morphological diversity due to unstable tissue differentiation.

Unique dental arrangement in a new species of Groenlandaspis (Placodermi, Arthrodire) from the Middle Devonian of Mount Howitt, Victoria, Australia

The paper describes a new species of placoderm, Groenlandaspis howittensis, from the Middle Devonian of Australia, highlighting unique dental and skeletal features.

Classification of dinosaur footprints using machine learning

The paper trains machine learning models to classify dinosaur footprints as ornithopods or theropods using 20 landmark features, finding that MLP performs best with class imbalance.