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2023
Journal article
A revision of the ‘coelophysoid-grade’ theropod specimen from the Lower Jurassic of the Isle of Skye (Scotland )
The broadest diversification of early predatory dinosaurs is represented by the ‘coelophysoid-grade’ neotheropods, but their Hettangian–Sinemurian ( 191–201 Ma) record is scarce worldwide. More information is needed to shed light on the evolution of this dinosaur group after the end-Triassic mass extinction ( 201 Ma). Here we revisit the anatomy...Ezcurra, Martín D ; Marke, Daniel ; Walsh, Stig A ; Brusatte, Stephen L
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2023
Journal article
New postcranial remains from the Lealt Shale Formation of the Isle of Skye, Scotland, showcase hidden pterosaur diversity in the Middle Jurassic
The Early to Middle Jurassic transition was significant in pterosaur evolution, during which these volant reptiles exploded in diversity alongside dinosaurs and other animals. It has long been thought, however, that pterosaurs did not develop large wingspans until after the Jurassic, a notion challenged by the recent discovery of in...Jagielska, Natalia ; Challands, Thomas J ; O'Sullivan, Michael ; Ross, Dugald A ; Fraser, Nicholas C …
Palaeontology and Geobiology, Palaeoenvironments, and Palaeogeography
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2022
Journal article
The ecological diversification and evolution of Teleosauroidea (Crocodylomorpha, Thalattosuchia), with insights into their mandibular biomechanics
Throughout the Jurassic, a plethora of marine reptiles dominated ocean waters, including ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and thalattosuchian crocodylomorphs. These Jurassic ecosystems were characterized by high niche partitioning and spatial variation in dietary ecology. However, while the ecological diversity of many marine reptile lineages is well known, the overall ecological diversification of...Johnson, Michela M ; Foffa, Davide ; Young, Mark T ; Brusatte, Stephen L
Jurassic ecosystems , thalattosuchian crocodylomorphs, and Teleosauroidea
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2022
Journal article
Scleromochlus and the early evolution of Pterosauromorpha
Pterosaurs, the first vertebrates to evolve powered flight, were key components of Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystems from their sudden appearance in the Late Triassic until their demise at the end of the Cretaceous1,2,3,4,5,6. However, the origin and early evolution of pterosaurs are poorly understood owing to a substantial stratigraphic and morphological...Foffa, Davide ; Dunne, Emma M ; Nesbitt, Sterling J ; Butler, Richard J ; Fraser, Nicholas C …
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2021
Journal article
Paranasal sinus system and upper respiratory tract evolution in Mesozoic pelagic crocodylomorphs
Thalattosuchians were a predominately marine clade of Mesozoic crocodylomorphs, including semi-aquatic teleosauroid and obligately pelagic metriorhynchid subclades. Recent advances in our understanding of thalattosuchian endocranial anatomy have revealed new details of the evolutionary transition from terrestrial to marine to pelagic taxa. Paranasal sinuses, however, have received little attention. Herein, we...Cowgill, Thomas ; Young, Mark T ; Schwab, Julia A ; Walsh, Stig ; Witmer, Lawrence M …
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2021
Journal article
Rostral neurovasculature indicates sensory trade‐offs in Mesozoic pelagic crocodylomorphs
Metriorhynchoid thalattosuchians were a marine clade of Mesozoic crocodylomorphs that evolved from semi-aquatic, “gharial”-like species into the obligately pelagic subclade Metriorhynchidae. To explore whether the sensory and physiological demands of underwater life necessitates a shift in rostral anatomy, both in neurology and vasculature, we investigate the trigeminal innervation and potential...Bowman, Charlotte I W ; Young, Mark T ; Schwab, Julia A ; Walsh, Stig ; Witmer, Lawrence M …
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2021
Journal article
The braincase and inner ear of ‘Metriorhynchus’ cf. ‘M.’ brachyrhynchus–implications for aquatic sensory adaptations in crocodylomorphs
During their long evolutionary history crocodylomorphs achieved a great diversity of body sizes, ecomorphotypes and inferred feeding ecologies. One unique group of crocodylomorphs are the thalattosuchians, which lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous (ca. 191–125 Ma). They transitioned from shallow marine species, like teleosauroids, into fully pelagic forms with paddle...Schwab, Julia A ; Young, Mark T ; Herrera, Yanina ; Witmer, Lawrence M ; Walsh, Stig A …
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2022
Journal article
A skeleton from the Middle Jurassic of Scotland illuminates an earlier origin of large pterosaurs
Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to evolve flight1,2 and include the largest flying animals in Earth history.3,4 While some of the last-surviving species were the size of airplanes, pterosaurs were long thought to be restricted to small body sizes (wingspans ca. <1.8–1.6 m) from their Triassic origins through the Jurassic,...Jagielska, Natalia ; O’Sullivan, Michael ; Funston, Gregory F ; Butler, Ian B ; Challands, Thomas J …
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2021
Journal article
Ontogenetic variation in the crocodylian vestibular system
Crocodylians today live in tropical to subtropical environments, occupying mostly shallow waters. Their body size changes drastically during ontogeny, as do their skull dimensions and bite forces, which are associated with changes in prey preferences. Endocranial neurosensory structures have also shown to change ontogenetically, but less is known about the...Schwab, Julia A ; Young, Mark T ; Walsh, Stig A ; Witmer, Lawrence M ; Herrera, Yanina …
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2020
Journal article
First and most northern occurrence of a thalattosuchian crocodylomorph from the Jurassic of the Isle of Skye, Scotland
The Jurassic was a key interval for the evolution of dinosaurs, crocodylomorphs and many other vertebrate groups. In recent years, new vertebrate fossils have emerged from the Early–Middle Jurassic of the Isle of Skye, Scotland; however, much more is known about Skye's dinosaur fauna than its crocodylomorphs. Here we report...Kean, Kim J ; Foffa , Davide ; Johnston, Michela M ; Young, Mark T ; Greitens, Gert …
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2020
Journal article
Revision of Erpetosuchus (Archosauria: Pseudosuchia) and new erpetosuchid material from the Late Triassic ‘Elgin Reptile’ fauna based on μCT scanning techniques
The Late Triassic fauna of the Lossiemouth Sandstone Formation (LSF) from the Elgin area, Scotland, has been pivotal in expanding our understanding of Triassic terrestrial tetrapods. Frustratingly, due to their odd preservation, interpretations of the Elgin Triassic specimens have relied on destructive moulding techniques, which only provide incomplete, and potentially...Foffa , Davide ; Butler, Richard J ; Nesbitt, Sterling J ; Walsh, Stig ; Barrett, Paul M …
systematics, Erpetosuchidae , Erpetosuchus granti , Leptopleuron , and anatomy
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2020
Journal article
Inner ear sensory system changes as extinct crocodylomorphs transitioned from land to water
Major evolutionary transitions, in which animals develop new body plans and adapt to dramatically new habitats and lifestyles, have punctuated the history of life. The origin of cetaceans from land-living mammals is among the most famous of these events. Much earlier, during the Mesozoic Era, many reptile groups also moved...Schwab, Julia A ; Young, Mark T ; Neenan, James M ; Walsh, Stig A ; Witmer, Lawrence M …
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2015
Journal article
New specimen and revision of the late Jurassic teleosaurid 'Steneosaurus’ megarhinus.
Teleosaurids were a successful group of semi-aquatic crocodylomorphs that were an abundant part of coastal marine/lagoonal faunas during the Jurassic. Their fossil record suggests that the group declined in diversity and abundance during the Late Jurassic. 'Steneosaurus’ megarhinus (Hulke, 1871) from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation is a little known gracile...Foffa, Davide ; Young, Mark T ; Brusatte, Stephen L ; Steel, Lorna
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Journal article
Novel track morphotypes from new tracksites indicate increased Middle Jurassic dinosaur diversity on the Isle of Skye, Scotland
Dinosaur fossils from the Middle Jurassic are rare globally, but the Isle of Skye (Scotland, UK) preserves a varied dinosaur record of abundant trace fossils and rare body fossils from this time. Here we describe two new tracksites from Rubha nam Brathairean (Brothers’ Point) near where the first dinosaur footprint...dePolo, Paige E ; Brusatte, Stephen L ; Challands, Thomas J ; Foffa, Davide ; Wilkinson, Mark …
Theropoda, Jurassic period, Shale, Limestone, Sediment, Hip, Dinosaurs, and Toes
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Journal article
The first Triassic vertebrate fossils from Myanmar: Pachypleurosaurs in a marine limestone
As ecosystems recovered from the end-Permian extinction, many new animal groups proliferated in the ensuing Triassic. Among these were the sauropterygians, reptiles that evolved from terrestrial ancestors and transitioned to a marine environment. The first sauropterygians were small, marine-adapted taxa such as pachypleurosaurs, which are known from Middle–Late Triassic deposits,...San, Khaing Khaing ; Fraser, Nicholas C ; Foffa, Davide ; Rieppel, Olivier ; Brusatte, Stephen L
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Journal article
Revision of the Late Jurassic deep-water teleosauroid crocodylomorph Teleosaurus megarhinus Hulke, 1871 and evidence of pelagic adaptations in Teleosauroidea
Teleosauroids were a successful group of semi-aquatic crocodylomorphs that were an integral part of coastal marine/lagoonal faunas during the Jurassic. Their fossil record suggests that the group declined in diversity and abundance in deep water deposits during the Late Jurassic. One of the few known teleosauroid species from the deeper...Foffa, Davide ; Johnson, Michela M ; Young, Mark T ; Steel, Lorna ; Brusatte, Stephen L
Crocodylomorpha, Teleosauroidea, Kimmeridgian, and Aquatic adaptations
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Journal article
New theropod dinosaur teeth from the Middle Jurassic of the Isle of Skye, Scotland
The Middle Jurassic is a largely mysterious interval in dinosaur evolution, as few fossils of this age are known worldwide. In recent years, the Isle of Skye has yielded a substantial record of trackways, and a more limited inventory of body fossils, that indicate a diverse fauna of Middle Jurassic...Young, Chloe M E ; Hendrickx, Christopher ; Challands, Thomas James ; Foffa, Davide ; Ross, Dugald A …
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2017
Journal article
An unusual small-bodied crocodyliform from the Middle Jurassic of Scotland, UK, and potential evidence for an early diversification of advanced neosuchians
The Middle Jurassic is a poorly sampled time interval for non-pelagic neosuchian crocodyliforms, which obscures our understanding of the origin and early evolution of major clades. Here we report a lower jaw from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) Duntulm Formation of the Isle of Skye, Scotland, UK, which consists of an...Yi, Hongyu ; Tennant, Johnathan P ; Young, Mark T ; Challands, Thomas James ; Foffa, Davide …
Duntulm Formation, Neosuchia, Crocodyliformes, and Isle of Skye
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2014
Journal article
Tooth serration morphologies in the genus Machimosaurus (Crocodylomorpha, Thalattosuchia) from the Late Jurassic of Europe
Machimosaurus was a large-bodied durophagous/chelonivorous genus of teleosaurid crocodylomorph that lived in shallow marine and brackish ecosystems during the Late Jurassic. Among teleosaurids, Machimosaurus and its sister taxon ‘Steneosaurus’ obtusidens are characterized by having foreshortened rostra, proportionally enlarged supratemporal fenestrae and blunt teeth with numerous apicobasal ridges and a shorter...Young, Mark T ; Steel, Lorna ; Brusatte, Stephen L ; Foffa, Davide ; Lepage, Yves
Machimosaurus, Teleosauridae, ‘pseudo-denticles’, dental morphology, Europe, and enamel ridges