An analysis of pterosaurian biogeography: implications for the evolutionary history and fossil record quality of the first flying vertebrates

Upchurch, Paul; Andres, Brian; Butler, Richard J.; Barrett, Paul M.

doi:10.1080/08912963.2014.939077

Cited by 38 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 98 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…One group of comparable flying vertebrates is pterosaurs. Although this clade had different biogeographic patterns from other Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrates, quantitative biogeographic analysis revealed little vicariance and dispersal signal, but high levels of sympatry, which indicates rare cross-ocean range switching events possibly enabled by powered flight (Upchurch, et al, 2015). However, such a lack of statistical support for vicariance among pterosaurs might also be attributable to fossil sampling biases.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

The Biogeography of Coelurosaurian Theropods and its Impact on their Evolutionary History

Ding

Pittman

Upchurch

et al. 2019

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Coelurosauria are a group of mostly feathered theropods that gave rise to birds, the only dinosaurs that survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event and are still found today. Between their first appearance in the Middle Jurassic up to the end Cretaceous, coelurosaurs were party to dramatic geographic changes on the Earth's surface, including the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea, and the formation of the Atlantic Ocean. These plate tectonic events are

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

The Biogeography of Coelurosaurian Theropods and its Impact on their Evolutionary History

Ding

Pittman

Upchurch

et al. 2019

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This has been shown to be the case for other flying Mesozoic vertebrates (i.e. pterosaurs) (Upchurch et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dinosaur biogeographical structure and Mesozoic continental fragmentation: a network‐based approach

Dunhill

Bestwick

Narey

et al. 2016

Journal of Biogeography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aim To reconstruct dinosaur macro‐biogeographical patterns through the Mesozoic Era using a network‐based approach. We test how continental fragmentation affected dinosaur macro‐biogeographical structure and evolutionary rates. Location A global occurrence database of dinosaur families from the Late Triassic to the end‐Cretaceous was used for this study. Methods Biogeographical and geographical network models were constructed. Continental landmasses were linked by direct continental contact and sea level (SL)‐conditioned connections in geographical networks, and by shared dinosaur families in biogeographical networks. Biogeographical networks were run with raw, novel and first‐step connections for all dinosaur, ornithischian, theropod, and sauropodomorph taxa. Results Geographical connectedness declines through time, from peak aggregation in the Triassic–Jurassic to complete separation in the latest Cretaceous. Biogeographical connectedness shows no common trend in the raw and novel connection network models, but decreases through time while showing some correlation with continental fragmentation in most of the first‐step network models. Despite continental isolation and high SLs, intercontinental faunal exchange continued right up to the end of the Cretaceous. Continental fragmentation and dinosaurian macro‐biogeographical structure do not share a common pattern with dinosaurian evolutionary rates, although there is evidence that increased continental isolation resulted in increased origination rates in some dinosaurian lineages. Spatiotemporal sampling biases and early Mesozoic establishment of family‐level distribution patterns are important drivers of apparent dinosaur macro‐biogeographical structure. Main conclusions There is some evidence to suggest that dinosaur macro‐biogeographical structure was influenced by continental fragmentation, although intercontinental exchange of dinosaur faunas appears to have continued up to the end of the Cretaceous. Macro‐biogeographical patterns are obscured by uneven geographical sampling through time and a residual earlier Mesozoic distribution which is sustained up to the end of the Cretaceous.

show abstract

“…Implementing a large number of areas in the biogeographical analysis may alter the results and render them statistically non-significant (e.g. Upchurch et al, 2015). Therefore, and for computational convenience, we defined seven major geographical areas for the BioGeoBEARS analysis based on the current distribution of Stefania.…”

Section: Ancestral Range Estimationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution in the South American ‘Lost World’: insights from multilocus phylogeography of stefanias (Anura, Hemiphractidae, Stefania)

Kok

Russo

Ratz

et al. 2016

Journal of Biogeography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aim To investigate the influence of tepuian geomorphology on species diversification in the Pantepui biogeographical region based on the phylogenetic relationships and divergence times of tepui‐endemic clades of stefania frogs (Stefania, Hemiphractidae). Location The ‘tepuis’ and uplands/lowlands of the Pantepui biogeographical region of northern South America, one of the least accessible and least studied areas in the world. Methods Two mitochondrial and two nuclear DNA sequences from 60 individuals of Stefania from 24 localities in Pantepui were employed to infer phylogenetic affinities and estimate divergence times within the genus using both concatenation and species tree analyses. Ancestral areas were inferred using multiple models in a common likelihood framework. Results Phylogenetic analyses revealed high diversity in the genus Stefania with 10 candidate species in the Eastern Pantepui District. Four strongly supported clades are recovered in the area, one being exclusively composed of microendemics on isolated tepui summits. Biogeographical analyses suggest episodes of fragmentation of widespread tepuian ancestors from the onset of diversification of the genus, estimated in the Oligocene (c. 26 Ma), therefore suggesting a neglected vicariant model of Pantepui evolution, the Plateau Theory. Main conclusions Although our results suggest that vicariance played an important role in the diversification of Stefania, speciation in Pantepui followed an intricate pattern implying multiple nonexclusive processes. Vicariance and dispersal likely influenced diversification patterns of the Pantepui fauna, possibly according to the following sequence: (1) Cenozoic vicariance; (2) reorganization of species diversity due to periods of climatic instability; (3) recent invasions (Pleistocene) of widespread upland taxa.

show abstract

An analysis of pterosaurian biogeography: implications for the evolutionary history and fossil record quality of the first flying vertebrates

Cited by 38 publications

References 98 publications

The Biogeography of Coelurosaurian Theropods and its Impact on their Evolutionary History

The Biogeography of Coelurosaurian Theropods and its Impact on their Evolutionary History

Dinosaur biogeographical structure and Mesozoic continental fragmentation: a network‐based approach

Evolution in the South American ‘Lost World’: insights from multilocus phylogeography of stefanias (Anura, Hemiphractidae, Stefania)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About