An unusual
            <i>Amphisauropus</i>
            trackway and its implication for understanding seymouriamorph locomotion

Marchetti, Lorenzo; Mujal, Eudald; Bernardi, Massimo

doi:10.1111/let.12184

Cited by 30 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Based on studies of femoral and tibial microanatomy in extant tetrapods (Kriloff et al, 2008;Quemeneur, de Buffrénil & Laurin, 2013), these features also support a primarily terrestrial lifestyle. Collectively, this corroborates the conclusions of previous authors that Seymouria was most likely a terrestrial animal (White, 1939;Berman & Martens, 1993;Sullivan & Reisz, 1999;Marchetti, Mujal & Bernardi, 2017). The vertebral histology also confers support for a terrestrial lifestyle.…”

Section: Histological Interpretations and Comparisonssupporting

confidence: 89%

Postcranial anatomy and histology ofSeymouria, and the terrestriality of seymouriamorphs

Bazzana

Gee

Bevitt

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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Seymouria is the best known of the seymouriamorphs, a group of Permo-Carboniferous reptiliomorphs with both terrestrial and aquatic taxa. The majority of research on Seymouria has focused on cranial anatomy, with few detailed descriptions or illustrations of the postcrania. We utilized neutron computed tomography (nCT) and histological sampling to provide updated, detailed figures that clarify details of the postcranial anatomy and to assess the development and histology of Seymouria through specimens from the early Permian Richards Spur locality. The correlation of morphological and histological data indicate rapid metamorphosis in this terrestrially capable stem amniote, with the youngest specimen being postmetamorphic despite being distinctly younger than premetamorphic individuals of Discosauriscus, the only other seymouriamorph to have been histologically sampled. The microanatomical data (e.g., semi-open medullary cavity) also substantiate the hypothesis that Seymouria was terrestrial based on interpretation of external features, although the persistence of a modestly developed medullary spongiosa in comparison to either Discosauriscus or to other co-occurring terrestrial tetrapods suggests additional nuances that require further exploration. In the absence of clearly recognizable postmetamorphic stages in several seymouriamorph taxa, it is difficult to determine the evolutionary trajectory of terrestriality within the clade. Our analysis provides the first histological characterization of the life history of Seymouria and highlights the need for further study of seymouriamorph ontogeny.

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Section: Histological Interpretations and Comparisonssupporting

confidence: 89%

Postcranial anatomy and histology ofSeymouria, and the terrestriality of seymouriamorphs

Bazzana

Gee

Bevitt

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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“…In this case, footprint morphology (including palm/sole, digital pads, digits and claws) is anatomy-consistent and suitable for ichnotaxonomy and trackmaker attribution (e.g. Peabody, 1955;Carrano and Wilson, 2001;Voigt et al, 2007;Belvedere and Farlow, 2016;Marchetti et al, 2017a;Farlow et al, 2018a). However, some anatomical features, such as scale impressions, are not relevant for ichnotaxonomy.…”

Section: Track Registrationmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…McCrea et al, 2015;Razzolini et al, 2016). Still other morphological features, such as digit tip bifurcation and tail/digit drag impressions, are instead behavior-related and identical in different ichnotaxa, so they are here considered without ichnotaxonomic value (Tucker and Smith, 2004;Marchetti et al, 2017a;Farlow et al, 2018b). Many other morphological features are substrate-related and therefore also considered as ichnotaphonomic effects.…”

Section: Track Registrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The so-defined and assigned ichnotaxa are the basis for any further study on statistics, trackmaker identification, biostratigraphy, biogeography and palaeoecology (e.g. Voigt et al, 2007;Díaz-Martínez et al, 2017;Marchetti et al, 2017a;Marty et al, 2018). They determine the tetrapod track diversity and, being related to anatomical characters, also the faunal meaning of the ichnoassociation.…”

Section: Track Ichnotaxobasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Defining the morphological quality of fossil footprints. Problems and principles of preservation in tetrapod ichnology with examples from the Palaeozoic to the present

Marchetti¹,

Belvedere

Voigt³

et al. 2019

Earth-Science Reviews

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134

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The morphology of fossil footprints is the basis of vertebrate footprint ichnology. However, the processes acting during and after trace fossil registration which are responsible for the final morphology have never been precisely defined, resulting in a dearth of nomenclature. Therefore, we discuss the concepts of ichnotaphonomy, ichnostratinomy, taphonomy, biostratinomy, registration and diagenesis and describe the processes acting on footprint morphology. In order to evaluate the morphological quality of tetrapod footprints, we introduce the concept of morphological preservation, which is related to the morphological quality of footprints (M-preservation, acronym MP), and distinguish it from physical preservation (P-preservation, acronym PP), which characterizes whether or not a track is eliminated by taphonomic and diagenetic processes. M-preservation includes all the morphological features produced during and after track registration prior to its study, and may be divided into substages (ichnostratinomic, registrational, taphonomic, stratinomic, diagenetic). Moreover, we propose an updated numerical preservation scale for M-preservation. It ranges from 0.0 (worst preservation) to 3.0 (best preservation); intermediate values may be used and specific features may be indicated by letters. In vertebrate footprint ichnotaxonomy, we regard the anatomy-consistent morphology and to a lesser extent the trackway pattern as the only acceptable ichnotaxobases. Only footprints showing a good morphological preservation (grade 2.0-3.0) are useful in ichnotaxonomy, whereas ichnotaxa based on poor morphological preservation (grade 0.0-1.5) are considered ichnotaphotaxa (nomina dubia) characterized by extramorphologies. We applied the preservation scale on examples from the Palaeozoic to the present time, including three ichnotaphotaxa and 18 anatomy-consistent ichnotaxa/morphotypes attributed to several vertebrate footprint producers. Results indicate the utility, feasibility and suitability of this method for the entire vertebrate footprint record in any lithofacies, strongly recommending its use in future ichnotaxonomic studies.

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“…Historical photogrammetry, in which 3D digital models are created from scans of analog photographs taken before photogrammetry even existed (e.g., Lallensack et al, 2015), is now also being used. Only recently, several works dealing with tetrapod footprints from the Permian and Triassic (and, to a lesser degree, the upper Carboniferous) used photogrammetry to better interpret the morphology of the tetrapod footprints and locomotion (e.g., Mujal et al, 2015Mujal et al, , 2016bMujal et al, , 2017aMarchetti et al, 2017aMarchetti et al, , 2019cCitton et al, 2018;Lagnaoui et al, 2019;Mujal and Marchetti, 2020;Mujal and Schoch, 2020;and references therein).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Upper Paleozoic to Lower Mesozoic Tetrapod Ichnology Revisited: Photogrammetry and Relative Depth Pattern Inferences on Functional Prevalence of Autopodia

Mujal

Marchetti²,

Schoch

et al. 2020

Front. Earth Sci.

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In recent years photogrammetry has become an essential tool in the study of tetrapod footprints. Morphological analyses of footprints are interpretative; thus, researchers should use as much information as possible in order to eventually provide an objective conclusion. In this regard, photogrammetry is an extremely helpful tool to avoid potential biases and to better present ichnological data. We review the use of this technique in several Permian and Triassic tetrapod ichnological studies, with considerations on (1) ichnotaxonomy, (2) track-trackmaker correlation, (3) locomotion and/or behavior, (4) substrate induced effects, and (5) preservation of the fossil record and heritage. Furthermore, based on the available three-dimensional (3D) data on Permian and Triassic material, we present a first qualitative interpretation of relative depth patterns and the related functional prevalence (most deeply impressed area) within footprints. We identified three main groups: (1) anamniote, captorhinomorph/parareptile tracks (medialmedian functional prevalence), (2) diapsid tracks (median functional prevalence), and (3) synapsid tracks (median-lateral functional prevalence). The use of 3D photogrammetric models brings new light to the tetrapod footprint record, helping to better understand tetrapod communities throughout the late Paleozoic (and the end-Guadalupian and end-Permian extinctions) and the tetrapod recovery during the early Mesozoic.

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An unusual Amphisauropus trackway and its implication for understanding seymouriamorph locomotion

Cited by 30 publications

References 25 publications

Postcranial anatomy and histology ofSeymouria, and the terrestriality of seymouriamorphs

Postcranial anatomy and histology ofSeymouria, and the terrestriality of seymouriamorphs

Defining the morphological quality of fossil footprints. Problems and principles of preservation in tetrapod ichnology with examples from the Palaeozoic to the present

Upper Paleozoic to Lower Mesozoic Tetrapod Ichnology Revisited: Photogrammetry and Relative Depth Pattern Inferences on Functional Prevalence of Autopodia

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