A new actinopterygian Cheirolepis jonesi nov. sp. from  the Givetian of Spitsbergen, Svalbard

Newman, Michael J.; Burrow, Carole J.; Blaauwen, Jan L. den; Giles, Sam

doi:10.17850/njg101-1-3

Cited by 7 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Despite their earliest occurrence being just north of the palaeoequator ( Meemannia , Lochkovian, South China), actinopterygians are known almost exclusively from southern palaeolatitudes in the Devonian (figures 1 b and 2 a ). Only two other Northern Hemisphere occurrences are reported ( Cheirolepis , Givetian, Svalbard [48]; Krasnoyarichthys , Famennian, Russia [49]). The majority of taxa occur at low palaeolatitudes (0° to −30°), with a small number just crossing into the mid-palaeolatitudinal band (−30° to −60°).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most diverse localities trend from low- to mid-palaeolatitudes through the Palaeozoic, essentially tracking the migration of North America and Europe (figure 1 b ). Reporting new taxa from underrepresented regions [48,50] will have major implications for palaeogeographical spread, patterns of diversity and interpretations of ray-finned fish evolution, especially in the face of taxonomic revisions invalidating many existing generic referrals [56,57].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sampling biases obscure the early diversification of the largest living vertebrate group

2022

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Extant ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii) dominate marine and freshwater environments, yet spatio-temporal diversity dynamics following their origin in the Palaeozoic are poorly understood. Previous studies investigate face-value patterns of richness, with only qualitative assessment of biases acting on the Palaeozoic actinopterygian fossil record. Here, we investigate palaeogeographic trends, reconstruct local richness and apply richness estimation techniques to a recently assembled occurrence database for Palaeozoic ray-finned fishes. We identify substantial fossil record biases, such as geographical bias in sampling centred around Europe and North America. Similarly, estimates of diversity are skewed by extreme unevenness in the occurrence distributions, reflecting historical biases in sampling and taxonomic practices, to the extent that evenness has an overriding effect on diversity estimates. Other than a genuine rise in diversity in the Tournaisian following the end-Devonian mass extinction, diversity estimates for Palaeozoic actinopterygians appear to lack biological signal, are heavily biased and are highly dependent on sampling. Increased sampling of poorly represented regions and expanding sampling beyond the literature to include museum collection data will be critical in obtaining accurate estimates of Palaeozoic actinopterygian diversity. In conjunction, applying diversity estimation techniques to well-sampled regional subsets of the ‘global’ dataset may identify accurate local diversity trends.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sampling biases obscure the early diversification of the largest living vertebrate group

2022

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“…Despite their earliest occurrence being just north of the palaeoequator ( Meemannia , Lochkovian, South China), actinopterygians are known almost exclusively from southern palaeolatitudes in the Devonian (figure 1b; figure 2a). Only two other northern hemisphere occurrences are reported ( Cheirolepis , Givetian, Svalbard (41); Krasnoyarichthys , Famennian, Russia (42)). The majority of taxa occur at low palaeolatitudes (0° to −30°), with a small number just crossing into the mid-palaeolatitudinal band (−30° to −60°).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most diverse localities trend from low-to mid-palaeolatitudes through the Palaeozoic, essentially tracking the migration of North America and Europe (figure 1b). Reporting new taxa from underrepresented regions (41,43) will have major implications for palaeogeographical spread, patterns of diversity, and interpretations of ray-finned fish evolution, especially in the face of taxonomic revisions invalidating many existing generic referrals (49,50).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sampling biases obscure the early diversification of the largest living vertebrate group

Henderson

Dunne

Giles

2022

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Extant ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii) dominate marine and freshwater environments, yet their spatiotemporal diversity dynamics following their origin in the Palaeozoic are poorly understood. Previous studies investigate face-value patterns of richness, with only qualitative assessment of potential biases acting on the Palaeozoic actinopterygian fossil record. Here, we investigate palaeogeographic trends and apply richness estimation techniques to a recently-assembled occurrence database for Palaeozoic ray-finned fishes. We reconstruct patterns of local richness of Palaeozoic actinopterygians, alongside sampling standardised estimates of ‘global’ diversity. We identify substantial fossil record biases, such as geographic bias in the sampling of actinopterygian occurrences centred around Europe and North America. Similarly, estimates of diversity are skewed by extreme unevenness in the abundance distributions of occurrences, reflecting past taxonomic practices and historical biases in sampling. Increasing sampling of poorly represented regions and expanding sampling beyond the literature to include museum collection data will be critical in obtaining accurate estimates of Palaeozoic actinopterygian diversity. In conjunction, applying diversity estimation techniques to well-sampled regional subsets of the ‘global’ dataset may identify accurate local diversity trends.

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The early diversification of ray‐finned fishes (Actinopterygii): hypotheses, challenges and future prospects

et al. 2022

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Actinopterygii makes up half of living vertebrate diversity, and study of fossil members during their Palaeozoic rise to dominance has a long history of descriptive work. Although research interest into Palaeozoic actinopterygians has increased in recent years, broader patterns of diversity and diversity dynamics remain critically understudied. Past studies have investigated macroevolutionary trends in Palaeozoic actinopterygians in a piecemeal fashion, variably using existing compendia of vertebrates or literature‐based searches. Here, we present a comprehensive occurrence‐based dataset of actinopterygians spanning the whole of the Palaeozoic. We use this to produce the first through‐Palaeozoic trends in genus and species counts for Actinopterygii. Diversity through time generally tracks metrics for sampling, while major taxonomic problems pervading the Palaeozoic actinopterygian record obscure diversity trends. Many described species are concentrated in several particularly problematic ‘waste‐basket’ genera, hiding considerable morphological and taxonomic diversity. This taxonomic confusion also feeds into a limited understanding of phylogenetic relationships. A heavy sampling bias towards Europe and North America exists in both occurrence databases and available phylogenetic matrices, with other regions underrepresented despite yielding important data. Scrutiny of the extent to which spatial biases influence the actinopterygian record is lacking, as is research on other forms of bias. Low richness in some time periods may be linked to geological biases, while the effects of taphonomic biases on Palaeozoic actinopterygians have not yet been investigated. Efforts are already underway both to redescribe poorly defined taxa and to describe taxa from underrepresented regions, helping to address taxonomic issues and accuracy of occurrence data. New methods of sampling standardisation utilising up‐to‐date occurrence databases will be critical in teasing apart biological changes in diversity and those resulting from bias. Lastly, continued phylogenetic work will enable the use of phylogenetic comparative methods to elucidate the origins of actinopterygian biogeography and subsequent patterns of radiation throughout their rise to dominate aquatic faunas.

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A new actinopterygian Cheirolepis jonesi nov. sp. from the Givetian of Spitsbergen, Svalbard

Cited by 7 publications

References 6 publications

Sampling biases obscure the early diversification of the largest living vertebrate group

Sampling biases obscure the early diversification of the largest living vertebrate group

Sampling biases obscure the early diversification of the largest living vertebrate group

The early diversification of ray‐finned fishes (Actinopterygii): hypotheses, challenges and future prospects

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