Fossil Friday Roundup: August 5, 2016

Featured image: Australovenator attacking a Muttaburrasaurus. Artwork by Travis R. Tischler. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2312/fig-1

Papers (all Open Access):

• An examination of feeding ecology in Pleistocene proboscideans from southern China (Sinomastodon, Stegodon, Elephas), by means of dental microwear texture analysis (Quaternary International)
• Barcoding the largest animals on Earth: ongoing challenges and molecular solutions in the taxonomic identification of ancient cetaceans (PTRSB)
• PalZ is offering free access until August 31 for its latest Special issue: Palaeobiology and Fossil Lagerstätten: a tribute and memorial to Adolf Seilacher (PalZ)
• Comparative 3D analyses and palaeoecology of giant early amphibians (Temnospondyli: Stereospondyli) (Scientific Reports)
• Partially incorrect fossil data augment analyses of discrete trait evolution in living species (Biology Letters)
• The pes of Australovenator wintonensis (Theropoda: Megaraptoridae): analysis of the pedal range of motion and biological restoration (PeerJ)
• Pigmented anatomy in Carboniferous cyclostomes and the evolution of the vertebrate eye (ProcB)
• Two new mylagaulid rodents from the Early Miocene of China (PLOS ONE)
• The Origin of High-Frequency Hearing in Whales (Current Biology)

Society Events and Updates:

• The Annual Meeting of the Palaeontological Association will be December 14–17 in Lyon France. For more information and to register for the meeting, follow this link.
• Early Registration Deadline for the SVP Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah is August 16! For more information and to register for the meeting, click here.
• The Paleontological Society is looking for undergraduate student ambassadors for the upcoming GSA meeting. Deadline to apply is August 21! Click here for the application.

News:

• Newly discovered fossils strengthen proposition that world’s first mass extinction engineered by early animals (Link)
• A New Michael Crichton Novel, About Paleontology’s ‘Bone Wars’, Will Be Published (Link)
• From Hamburg to Kashmir, connections through fossils (Link)
• New Lenox paleontologist creating 3-D maps of historic Jurassic site (Link)
• New Finding from Southern China Helps Understanding the Feeding Ecology of Pleistocene Proboscideans (Link)
• First diagnosis of dinosaur arthritis shows it lived in pain (Link)
• ‘Red gene’ in birds and turtles suggests dinosaurs had bird-like color vision (Link)
• Largest-Ever Carnivorous Dinosaur Footprint Discovered in Bolivia (Link)

Around the Blogosphere:

• Stegosaurs and the species recognition hypothesis (Link)
• Not paleo, but still fascinating! This Smithsonian scientist’s death was a mystery; 150 years later, his skeleton helped solve it (Link)
• The first crocodile ancestors (Link)
• Birds of a fibula (Link)
• La Tortuga y Su Caparazón (Link) / The Turtle and Its Shell (Link)
• Digging up our Triceratops: Count Trikeula! (Link)
• Save Mongolia’s Dinosaurs! (Link)
• The Paleontological Individual (Link)
• (former) Ash beds in St. Paul (Link)
• Painting the Ancient Seas (Link)

Do you have some news, a blog, or something just plain cool you want to share with the PLOS Paleo Community? Email it to us at paleocommunity@plos.org or tweet it to us at @PLOSPaleo.

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