A new polycotylid plesiosaur with extensive soft tissue preservation from the early Late Cretaceous of northeast Mexico

Frey, Eberhard; Mulder, Eric W.A.; Stinnesbeck, Wolfgang; Rivera-Sylva, Héctor E.; Padilla-Gutiérrez, José Manuel; González-González, Arturo H.

doi:10.18268/bsgm2017v69n1a5

Cited by 31 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…3). All nyctosaurids are known from shallow marine deposits (Marsh, 1876;Bennett, 2003a;Frey et al, 2006) with an absence of ichnofossils suggesting foraging over water (Unwin, 2007). Comparative anatomy and functional morphology of mineralised wing tendons in Muzquizopteryx coahuilensis allowed theoretical wing muscle reconstructions indicating restricted wing movements and foraging in shallow marine environments (Frey et al, 2006).…”

Section: (B) Nyctosauridaementioning

confidence: 99%

Pterosaur dietary hypotheses: a review of ideas and approaches

et al. 2018

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Pterosaurs are an extinct group of Mesozoic flying reptiles, whose fossil record extends from approximately 210 to 66 million years ago. They were integral components of continental and marginal marine ecosystems, yet their diets remain poorly constrained. Numerous dietary hypotheses have been proposed for different pterosaur groups, including insectivory, piscivory, carnivory, durophagy, herbivory/frugivory, filter-feeding and generalism. These hypotheses, and subsequent interpretations of pterosaur diet, are supported by qualitative (content fossils, associations, ichnology, comparative anatomy) and/or quantitative (functional morphology, stable isotope analysis) evidence. Pterosaur dietary interpretations are scattered throughout the literature with little attention paid to the supporting evidence. Reaching a robustly supported consensus on pterosaur diets is important for understanding their dietary evolution, and their roles in Mesozoic ecosystems. A comprehensive examination of the pterosaur literature identified 314 dietary interpretations (dietary statement plus supporting evidence) from 126 published studies. Multiple alternative diets have been hypothesised for most principal taxonomic pterosaur groups. Some groups exhibit a high degree of consensus, supported by multiple lines of evidence, while others exhibit less consensus. Qualitative evidence supports 87.3% of dietary interpretations, with comparative anatomy most common (62.1% of total). More speciose groups of pterosaur tend to have a greater range of hypothesised diets. Consideration of dietary interpretations within alternative phylogenetic contexts reveals high levels of consensus between equivalent monofenestratan groups, and lower levels of consensus between equivalent non-monofenestratan groups. Evaluating the possible non-biological controls on apparent patterns of dietary diversity reveals that numbers of dietary interpretations through time exhibit no correlation with patterns of publication (number of peer-reviewed publications through time). 73.8% of dietary interpretations were published in the 21st century. Overall, consensus interpretations of pterosaur diets are better accounted for by non-biological signals, such as the impact of the respective quality of the fossil record of different pterosaur groups on research levels. That many interpretations are based on qualitative, often untestable lines of evidence adds significant noise to the data. More experiment-led pterosaur dietary research, with greater consideration of pterosaurs as organisms with independent evolutionary histories, will lead to more robust conclusions drawn from repeatable results. This will allow greater understanding of pterosaur dietary diversity, disparity and evolution and facilitate reconstructions of Mesozoic ecosystems.

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Section: (B) Nyctosauridaementioning

confidence: 99%

Pterosaur dietary hypotheses: a review of ideas and approaches

et al. 2018

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“…Indeed, this taxon was regarded as a pliosaurid/‘pliosauroid’ for decades [ 28 , 29 ] before being recognized as a polycotylid [ 3 , 7 , 19 , 27 ]. Moreover, the phylogenetic relationships of recently described Middle Cretaceous polycotylids Eopolycotylus rankini from the late Early Turonian of the USA [ 15 ], Dolichorhynchops tropicensis from the Early Turonian of USA [ 30 ], Sulcusuchus erraini from the Late Campanian–Early Maastrichtian of Argentina [ 31 , 32 ] and Mauriciosaurus fernandezi from the Early Turonian of Mexico [ 33 ] have never or rarely been tested [ 19 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolutionary history of polycotylid plesiosaurians

et al. 2018

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Polycotylidae is a clade of plesiosaurians that appeared during the Early Cretaceous and became speciose and abundant early in the Late Cretaceous. However, this radiation is poorly understood. Thililua longicollis from the Middle Turonian of Morocco is an enigmatic taxon possessing an atypically long neck and, as originally reported, a series of unusual cranial features that cause unstable phylogenetic relationships for polycotylids. We reinterpret the holotype specimen of Thililua longicollis and clarify its cranial anatomy. Thililua longicollis possesses an extensive, foramina-bearing jugal, a premaxilla–parietal contact and carinated teeth. Phylogenetic analyses of a new cladistic dataset based on first-hand observation of most polycotylids recover Thililua and Mauriciosaurus as successive lineages at the base of the earliest Late Cretaceous polycotyline radiation. A new dataset summarizing the Bauplan of polycotylids reveals that their radiation produced an early burst of disparity during the Cenomanian–Turonian interval, with marked plasticity in relative neck length, but this did not arise as an ecological release following the extinction of ichthyosaurs and pliosaurids. This disparity vanished during and after the Turonian, which is consistent with a model of ‘early experimentation/late constraint’. Two polycotylid clades, Occultonectia clade nov. and Polycotylinae, survived up to the Maastrichtian, but with low diversity.

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“…Given the active piscivorous lifestyle of most warm-blooded plesiosaurs, the speediness and agility of their prey (small fish and squid or, in the case of macrophagous pliosaurs, large fish, sharks, and even other marine reptiles) versus the inertness of the jellyfish that the endothermic leatherback preys upon, and taking into account their need to employ bursts of speed to either obtain prey or avoid becoming it, it is reasonable to assume that their upper-end speeds met or exceeded that of the leatherback. This is further supported by an analysis of the fusiform body-shape of the recently discovered polycotylid plesiosaur Mauriciosaurus, and a comparison between it and the leatherback turtle: "Nonetheless, the long and slim limbs that likely all participated in thrust generation, may have allowed for higher velocities" [31].…”

Section: A Discussion On Speedmentioning

confidence: 83%

How Plesiosaurs Swam: New Insights into Their Underwater Flight Using “Ava”, a Virtual Pliosaur

Hawthorne¹,

McMenamin²

2019

Preprint

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Analysis of plesiosaur swim dynamics by means of a digital 3D armature (wireframe “skeleton”) of a pliosauromorph (“Ava”) demonstrates that: 1, plesiosaurs used all four flippers for primary propulsion; 2, plesiosaurs utilized all four flippers simultaneously; 3, respective pairs of flippers of Plesiosauridae, front and rear, traveled through distinctive, separate planes of motion, and; 4, the ability to utilize all four paddles simultaneously allowed these largely predatory marine reptiles to achieve a significant increase in acceleration and speed, which, in turn, contributed to their sustained dominance during the Mesozoic.

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A new polycotylid plesiosaur with extensive soft tissue preservation from the early Late Cretaceous of northeast Mexico

Abstract: RESUMEN

Cited by 31 publications

References 45 publications

Pterosaur dietary hypotheses: a review of ideas and approaches

Pterosaur dietary hypotheses: a review of ideas and approaches

The evolutionary history of polycotylid plesiosaurians

How Plesiosaurs Swam: New Insights into Their Underwater Flight Using “Ava”, a Virtual Pliosaur

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A new polycotylid plesiosaur with extensive soft tissue preservation from the early Late Cretaceous of northeast Mexico

Abstract: RESUMEN

Cited by 31 publications

References 45 publications

Pterosaur dietary hypotheses: a review of ideas and approaches

Pterosaur dietary hypotheses: a review of ideas and approaches

The evolutionary history of polycotylid plesiosaurians

How Plesiosaurs Swam: New Insights into Their Underwater Flight Using &ldquo;Ava&rdquo;, a Virtual Pliosaur

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How Plesiosaurs Swam: New Insights into Their Underwater Flight Using “Ava”, a Virtual Pliosaur