Evolution and Paleontology Studies

Fossil Freshwater Fishes from the Pliocene of northern Colombia and the Palaeogeography of northern South America

This paper reports new fossil freshwater fish taxa from Pliocene formations in northern Colombia, suggesting historical connectivity between Amazon-Orinoco and trans-Andean drainages.

Revalidation of Manis aurita based on integrative genomic and morphological evidence

This study revalidates Manis aurita as a distinct species using genomic and morphological data from museum specimens.

Comparison of directional random walk and weighted least squares modeling of sparse fossil data

This study compares directional random walk and weighted least squares methods for modeling sparse fossil data, finding that weighted least squares performs better in handling measurement errors.

Phylogenetic Dependence and Effective Information in Species-Level Model Evaluation

This paper develops a framework to quantify effective information in species-level analyses by accounting for phylogenetic dependence, showing that nominal species counts overestimate independent information.

Constrained body mass evolution and decoupled morphological rates in plesiosaurs

This study estimates body masses for plesiosaurs and finds constrained body size evolution but no correlation between body size and morphological evolution rates.

Genomic Distortion of Jawed Vertebrate Phylogeny

This study investigates how genomic evolution affects phylogenetic relationships and divergence times in jawed vertebrates, showing that rapid radiations and varying mutation rates obscure evolutionary timelines.

Unique fingerprint of marine ectotherm body size change during hyperthermal crises

This study compiles data from fossil, historical, and modern studies to show that marine ectotherms generally decrease in body size during hyperthermal events, with stronger responses to higher warming magnitudes.

Summarizing Evolutionary Trajectories from Phylogenetic Character Maps of Discrete Traits

This paper introduces a framework to summarize evolutionary trajectories of discrete traits using trajectory trees, applied to lizard biogeography and ecomorph evolution, revealing more unique paths than expected under standard models.

The phylogenetic signal of extinction through the rise and fall of early vertebrates: field of bullets or clustered strike?

This study examines how extinction patterns varied over time in early vertebrates, showing shifts from clustered to overdispersed extinction during key evolutionary periods.

New data on Quaternary lagomorphs from Lagoa Santa, State Of Minas Gerais, Brazil

This study analyzes 148 fossil and subfossil lagomorph specimens from Lagoa Santa, Brazil, revealing taxonomic and taphonomic patterns across Pleistocene and Holocene deposits.

The influence of reproductive mode on resource competition and diversity patterns in Ediacaran early animal communities

This paper investigates how reproductive mode influenced community dynamics and diversity patterns in Ediacaran animal communities, finding that stolon reproduction limited diversification until the onset of sexual reproduction.

Speciation history shapes patterns of assemblage species richness in birds

This study shows that speciation history influences sympatric species richness in birds, with older clades having higher richness due to longer time for species to accumulate in sympatry.

Intermediate abundance promotes speciation when dispersal is limited

The paper shows that intermediate abundance maximizes speciation probability under limited dispersal, supported by empirical analysis of Hawaiian arthropod data.

The Last Iberian Record of Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx): Osteometry and Historical Implications of the Lynx from Sima Topinoria (Cantabria, Spain)

The study analyzes a nearly complete Eurasian lynx skeleton from Sima Topinoria, revealing it dates to ~210 years BP and suggests the species persisted in the Iberian Peninsula until the early 19th century.

Reexamining the evolutionary history of the mammalian medial pterygoid muscle

This paper reevaluates the evolutionary position of the medial pterygoid muscle relative to Meckels cartilage in mammals, challenging traditional interpretations and supporting Patterson's hypothesis about its insertion site and evolutionary significance.

Dental topography and diet in marsupials and comparisons with primates

This study evaluates dental topographic metrics to predict diet in marsupials and compares them to primates, finding varying accuracy depending on the metric and species.

A critical look at directional random walk modeling of sparse fossil data

This paper evaluates the directional random walk model for inferring evolutionary trends from sparse fossil data and finds that generalized least squares (GLS) is more reliable than GRW when measurement errors are large.

EMPIRE: The Ellipse Model for Phylogenetic Inference of Range Evolution

The paper introduces EMPIRE, a model for inferring range evolution in phylogenetics, and applies it to skinks in Australia, finding speciation linked to aridification but not ecological partitioning in daughter lineages.

PALAEOROBOTICS UNCOVERS DEVASTATING MAMMALIAN TAIL STRIKE DYNAMICS

The paper uses a palaeorobotic model to estimate the force and velocity of a Pleistocene glyptodont's tail strike, supporting its role as an antipredator defense mechanism.

Disparity analyses are robust to ancestral state estimation uncertainty

This study evaluates how ancestral state estimation affects disparity analyses, finding that fossil sampling density is more critical than estimation method choice.

Statistical and structural bias in birth-death models

The paper examines statistical and structural biases in birth-death models for estimating speciation and extinction rates from phylogenetic trees and provides corrections to improve accuracy.

Habitat-specific temporal variation in the pace of fish diversification

This study shows that diversification rates in ray-finned fishes vary over time depending on habitat complexity, with accelerated rates in benthic habitats due to feeding innovations.

We might not notice a 'mass' extinction

The paper examines when and if we will detect a current mass extinction by analyzing extinction rates, species discovery rates, and future loss scenarios.

Fossil-based analyses of clades' diversification patterns require taxonomic expertise and appropriate methodology

The paper critiques a study's findings on neoselachian diversification patterns, attributing discrepancies to methodological issues and incomplete fossil data.

Life History Optimization and the Macroevolution of Mammal Body Size

This study tests an analytical life history model of optimal size using mammal life history and phylogeny data, showing it explains macroevolutionary patterns of body size evolution.

Evaluating the impact and detectability of mass extinctions on total-evidence dating

This study evaluates how mass extinctions affect phylogenetic dating by simulating their impact and testing detectability using total-evidence dating methods.

Stochastic Character Mapping of Continuous Traits on Phlyogenies

The paper introduces a method for stochastic character mapping of continuous traits on phylogenies, showing higher trait evolution rates in smaller eucalypt trees.

Evolutionary dynamics of temporal niche among tetrapods

This study analyzes the evolutionary dynamics of temporal niche use across tetrapods, finding increased diurnality and faster temporal niche evolution in amphibians post-K-Pg extinction.

Occam's bias undermines inferences from phylogenetic linear models

The paper identifies Occam's bias in phylogenetic linear models and demonstrates its impact on ecological and evolutionary inferences using a study of 13,949 terrestrial vertebrates.

Contrasting Species-Level and Genus Level Disparity Patterns within the ammonoid family Acanthoceratidae

This study compares genus-level and species-level disparity patterns in acanthoceratid ammonoids to assess if genus-level data accurately reflect species-level evolutionary dynamics during a major ecological event.