Fossil Friday Roundup: December 1, 2017

Featured Image: The perinatal hadrosaurid right dentary (UALVP 54419), occlusal transverse histological thin section. From Bramble et al. (2017).

Papers (All Open Access):

• Trophic and tectonic limits to the global increase of marine invertebrate diversity (Scientific Reports)
• Testing the applicability of a benthic foraminiferal-based transfer function for the reconstruction of paleowater depth changes in Rhodes (Greece) during the early Pleistocene (PLOS ONE)
• New reticulosan sponges from the middle Cambrian of Sonora, Mexico (APP)
• Thyasirid bivalves from Cretaceous and Paleogene cold seeps (APP)
• The West African enigma: Systematics, evolution, and palaeobiogeography of cardiid bivalve Procardium (APP)
• The first fossil insect from the deep-water marine Early Miocene of Zillerleite, Germany (Diptera: Bibionidae) (PalaeoE)
• A new burmagomphid dragonfly from the Eocene of Patagonia, Argentina (APP)
• A new soldier beetle from Eocene Baltic amber (APP)
• Phylogeography of the termite Macrotermes gilvus and insight into ancient dispersal corridors in Pleistocene Southeast Asia (PLOS ONE)
• Geological duration of ammonoids controlled their geographical range of fossil distribution (PeerJ)
• Principal component and discriminant analyses as powerful tools to support taxonomic identification and their use for functional and phylogenetic signal detection of isolated fossil shark teeth (PLOS ONE)
• The evolutionary origin of digit patterning (EvoDevo)
• Phylogeographic and population insights of the Asian common toad (Bufo gargarizans) in Korea and China: population isolation and expansions as response to the ice ages (PeerJ)
• Still slow, but even steadier: an update on the evolution of turtle cranial disparity interpolating shapes along branches (RSOS)
• A signature of dynamic biogeography: enclaves indicate past species replacement (ProcB)
• On a cranial bony nodular protuberance on Mourasuchus pattersoni Cidade et al. 2017 (Crocodylia, Alligatoroidea) from the late Miocene of Venezuela (Historical Biology)
• The osteoderm microstructure in doswelliids and proterochampsids and its implications for palaeobiology of stem archosaurs (APP)
• Osteology of a New Specimen of Macrocnemus aff. M. fuyuanensis (Archosauromorpha, Protorosauria) from the Middle Triassic of Europe: Potential Implications for Species Recognition and Paleogeography of Tanystropheid Protorosaurs (Frontiers in Earth Science)
• Lopingian tetrapod footprints from the Venetian Prealps, Italy: New discoveries in a largely incomplete panorama (APP)
• A tyrannosauroid metatarsus from the Merchantville formation of Delaware increases the diversity of non-tyrannosaurid tyrannosauroids on Appalachia (PeerJ)
• An exceptionally preserved armored dinosaur reveals the morphology and allometry of osteoderms and their horny epidermal coverings (PeerJ)
• Histological evidence for a dynamic dental battery in hadrosaurid dinosaurs (Scientific Reports)
• A large and distinct skin impression on the cast of a sauropod dinosaur footprint from Early Cretaceous floodplain deposits, Korea (Scientific Reports)
• Late Triassic sauropodomorph and Middle Jurassic theropod tracks from the Xichang Basin, Sichuan Province, southwestern China: First report of the ichnogenus Carmelopodus (Journal of Palaeogeography)
• Masticatory jaw movement of Exaeretodon argentinus (Therapsida: Cynodontia) inferred from its dental microwear (PLOS ONE)
• Insectivores and marsupials from the upper Oligocene of Banovići (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (JVP)
• The Interatheriinae notoungulates from the middle Miocene Collón Curá Formation in Argentina (APP)
• On a new diatomyid (Rodentia, Mammalia) from the Paleogene of south-east Serbia, the first record of the family in Europe (Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments)
• Rodent faunas from the Paleogene of south-east Serbia (Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments)
• Evolutionary history of enigmatic bears in the Tibetan Plateau–Himalaya region and the identity of the yeti (ProcB)
• A new genus of horse from Pleistocene North America (eLife)
• Long-term archives reveal shifting extinction selectivity in China’s postglacial mammal fauna (ProcB)
• Neanderthal hunting strategies inferred from mortality profiles within the Abric Romaní sequence (PLOS ONE)

Community Events, Society Updates, and Resources:

• The Science Ambassador Scholarship for female undergraduate and high school seniors, Deadline December 11, 2017 (Link)
• Apply Now For The 2018 Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award, Deadline Jan. 18, 2018 (Paleontological Society)
• Western Association of Vertebrate Paleontologists Annual Meeting, St. George, Utah, Feb. 16–18, 2018, Abstract Deadline January 12, 2018 (Link)
• 2018 AIBS Congressional Visits Day In Washington, DC, April 17-18, 2018 (Paleontological Society)
• Trekking Across the GOBE: From the Cambrian through the Katian, IGCP 653 Annual Meeting, June 3-7, 2018, Athens, Ohio, USA (Link)
• North American Paleontological Convention June 23–27 2019 (Link)

News and Views:

Animals and Anatomy:

• Top 10 Open Access Fossil Taxa of 2017: Babelichthys olneyi (PLOS Paleo)
• Ordinary Animals and sex: choosing the right partner (UCL Blogs)
• Underwhelming Fossil Fish of the Month November 2017 (UCL Blogs)
• Paleo Profile: Miera’s Lizard (Laelaps)
• Feathered dinosaurs were even fluffier than we thought (Link)
• Fossil Friday – ceratopsian rib (Valley of the Mastodon)
• New research analyses body armour of Borealopelta (Inside the Royal Tyrrell Museum)
• Top 10 Open Access Fossil Taxa of 2017: Isaberrysaura mollensis (PLOS Paleo)
• A brief history of Mesozoic theropods research in Gondwana (Letters from Gondwana)
• Ten Long, Happy Years of Xenoposeidon (Tetrapod Zoology)
• A Sauropod Footprint with a Skin Impression (Dr. Neurosaurus)
• Miocene (Pt 4): Bear-Dogs and Dog-Bears (Synapsida)
• Abominable Snowman? Nope. Study ties DNA samples from purported Yetis to Asian bears (Link)
• At the Ice Age Salad Bar (Laelaps)
• Rapid decline of vertebrate populations (Time Scavengers)

Museums, Methods, and Musings:

• Photogrammetry: index to Heinrich Mallison’s tutorials (SVPOW)
• Papers Seen In 2017 (What’s in John’s Freezer?)
• Miocene Madrid (Pseudoplocephalus)
• LGBT and a Scientist (Time Scavengers)
• 6. Peer Review: Criticisms of the Conventional System (Green Tea and Velociraptors)
• New In­ter­pret­a­tion of the Red Queen’s Hy­po­thesis: it’s about ex­pan­sion (Link)
• #GradStudentTax: What it is and how it could impact you (PLOS ECR Community)
• Leaving a Legacy: specimen collection in archaeology and biology (Extinct)
• Museums Are Strong Partners in Biodiversity Education (PLOS Ecology)
• This Mesozoic Month: November 2017 (Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs)
• Tyrannosaurus Rex Sue is Movin’ on Up! (Dave’s Dinosaurs)

Featured Folks and Fieldwork:

• Paleoart Addendum: An Interview with Mark Witton (Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs)
• Armored dinosaur specimen is one of the best-preserved dinosaurs ever found: Author interview with Caleb Brown (PeerJ Blog)
• Klondike placer miner honoured for paleontological finds (link)

Art, books, culture, and fun:

• 50 Natural History Museum Exhibitions (Fistful of Cinctans)
• Promo pandemonium: Prehistoric Times, Mark Hallett calendar, public talks, and Norwescon 41 (SVPOW)
• The Lost World, 20 years on (Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs)

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