Featured Image: A new specimen of Archaeopteryx, from Rauhut et al (2018). CC-BY.
Papers (All Open Access):
- Strontium isotopes reveal weathering processes in lateritic covers in southern China with implications for paleogeographic reconstructions (PLOS ONE)
- Geophysical investigations unravel the vestiges of ancient meandering channels and their dynamics in tidal landscapes (Scientific Reports)
- Remote collection of microorganisms at two depths in a freshwater lake using an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) (PeerJ)
- Reversing functional extinction of mammals prompts a rethink of paradigms about seed fate in arid Australia (RSOS)
- Parallel diversifications of Cremastosperma and Mosannona (Annonaceae), tropical rainforest trees tracking Neogene upheaval of South America (RSOS)
- A review of bottom-up vs. top-down control of sponges on Caribbean fore-reefs: what’s old, what’s new, and future directions (PeerJ)
- A humid early Holocene in Yemen interpreted from palaeoecology and taxonomy of freshwater ostracods (Journal of Micropalaeontology)
- Early Cambrian fuxianhuiids from China reveal origin of the gnathobasic protopodite in euarthropods (Scientific Reports)
- An early and mysterious histerid inquiline from Cretaceous Burmese amber (Coleoptera, Histeridae) (Zookeys)
- The occurrence of a shallow-water Ammobaculoides assemblage in the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) Dhruma Formation of Central Saudi Arabia (Journal of Micropalaeontology)
- A new stem group echinoid from the Triassic of China leads to a revised macroevolutionary history of echinoids during the end-Permian mass extinction (RSOS)
- Special Issue: Limb Development and Evolution (Genetics)
- Anatomical network analysis of the musculoskeletal system reveals integration loss and parcellation boost during the fins-to-limbs transition (Evolution)
- Redescription and phylogenetic reassessment of Asialepidotus shingyiensis (Holostei: Halecomorphi) from the Middle Triassic (Ladinian) of China (Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society)
- The ecological origins of snakes as revealed by skull evolution (Nature Communications)
- Redescription of Calyptosuchus (Stagonolepis) wellesi (Archosauria: Pseudosuchia: Aetosauria) from the Late Triassic of the Southwestern United States with a discussion of genera in vertebrate paleontology (PeerJ)
- A Middle Triassic Pachypleurosaur (Diapsida: Eosauropterygia) from a restricted carbonate ramp in the Western Carpathians (Gutenstein Formation, Fatric Unit): Paleogeographic Implications (Geologica Carpathica)
- The oldest Archaeopteryx (Theropoda: Avialiae): a new specimen from the Kimmeridgian/Tithonian boundary of Schamhaupten, Bavaria (PeerJ)
- Sauropod dinosaur remains from a new Early Jurassic locality in the Central High Atlas of Morocco (APP)
- A diverse mammal-dominated, footprint assemblage from wetland deposits in the Lower Cretaceous of Maryland (Scientific Reports)
- New Melissiodontinae (Mammalia, Rodentia) from the Paleogene of south-east Serbia (Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments)
- Differential influences of allometry, phylogeny and environment on the rostral shape diversity of extinct South American notoungulates (RSOS)
- Evolutionary changes of Hox genes and relevant regulatory factors provide novel insights into mammalian morphological modifications (Integrative Zoology)
- Arms race of temporal partitioning between carnivorous and herbivorous mammals (Scientific Reports)
- Insular mammalian fauna dynamics and paleogeography: A lesson from the Western Mediterranean islands (Integrative Zoology)
- Palaeoecology of giraffe tracks in Late Pleistocene aeolianites on the Cape south coast (South African Journal of Science)
- Warning signals of biodiversity collapse across gradients of tropical forest loss (Scientific Reports)
- Shedding light on the Early Pleistocene of TD6 (Gran Dolina, Atapuerca, Spain): The technological sequence and occupational inferences (PLOS ONE)
- The cranium of Sts 5 (‘Mrs Ples’) in relation to sexual dimorphism of Australopithecus africanus (South African Journal of Science)
- Palaeodemographics of individuals in Dinaledi Chamber using dental remains (South African Journal of Science)
- The Rise of the Anthroposphere since 50,000 Years: An Ecological Replacement of Megaherbivores by Humans in Terrestrial Ecosystems? (Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution)
- The evolution of modern human brain shape (Science Advances)
- The fossil teeth of the Peking Man (Scientific Reports)
Pre-Prints and Post-Prints:
- Prootic anatomy of a juvenile tyrannosauroid from New Jersey and its implications for the morphology and evolution of the tyrannosauroid braincase (PeerJ)
Community Events, Society Updates, and Resources:
Meetings:
- Western Association of Vertebrate Paleontologists Annual Meeting, St. George, Utah, Feb. 16–18, 2018 (Link)
- Burpee PaleoFest, March 3-4, 2018 (Link)
- Lyell Meeting 2018: Mass extinctions – understanding the world’s worst crises (Link)
- Trekking Across the GOBE: From the Cambrian through the Katian, IGCP 653 Annual Meeting, June 3-7, 2018, Athens, Ohio, USA (Link)
- 5th International Palaeontological Congress (IPC5), July 9–13, 2018, France (Link)
- 78th Annual Meeting, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP), October 17–20, 2018, Albuquerque, New Mexico (Link)
- 2018 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, November 4–7, 2018, Indianapolis, Indiana (Link)
- North American Paleontological Convention June 23–27 2019 (Link)
Deadlines:
- Nominations For A Student Representative To Council, deadline February 21, 2018 (Paleo Society)
- Paleontological Society to Sponsor Summer Policy Intern at AGI, Application deadline March 1, 2018 (Paleo Society)
- The AWG Undergraduate Excellence in Paleontology Award, deadline April 15, 2018 (PaleoSociety)
News and Views:
Animals and Anatomy:
- Paleo Profile: Kootenay Bristle Worm (Laelaps)
- Episode 86: Coal (Palaeocast)
- Specimen of the Week 328: Sawfish Rostrum (UCL Blogs)
- Underwhelming Fossil Fish of the Month January 2018 (UCL Blogs)
- Glowing Salamanders Shine Light on Evolution (Link)
- This giant tortoise was chomped by an ancient mystery croc (Earth Touch News)
- Snakes. Why did it have to be giant snakes? (PLOS Paleo)
- On the morphological variability of Ichniotherium tracks and evolution of locomotion in the sistergroup of amniotes (PeerJ)
- The oldest Archaeopteryx (Letters from Gondwana)
- Author Interview: Kimi Chapelle & Massospondylus Skull Anatomy (PLOS Paleo)
- Did tyrannosaurs smile like crocodiles? A discussion of cranial epidermal correlates in tyrannosaurid dinosaurs (Mark Witton)
- OMNH 1331, another big apatosaurine caudal (SVPOW)
- How crazy are the cervicals of Mendozasaurus? (SVPOW)
- Paleo Profile: The Mansaoura Lizard (Laelaps)
- A Point about Horned Dinosaurs (Laelaps)
- 34 million year old carnivore named after the Egyptian god of the Underworld (PLOS Paleo)
- Speaker Series 2018: Late Ice Age Mammals on Vancouver Island (Inside the Royal Tyrrell Museum)
- The Pig Family: Suids, Suines, and Swine (Synapsida)
- How Did Horses Get to Just One Toe? (Time Scavengers)
- Episode 27 – Domestication (Common Descent)
Museums, Methods, and Musings:
- Visiting the Carnegie Museum of Natural History – Part 1 (Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs)
- This Mesozoic Month: January 2018 (Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs)
- Specimen of the Week 327: The Fancy Casts (UCL Blogs)
- The Tet Zoo 12th-Birthday Event, Part 2 (TetZoo)
- Cultivating a new STEM audience: An exercise in communicating science (PLOS SciComm)
- Extinction, resolved (Extinct)
Featured Folks and Fieldwork:
- Practical guide to St. Croix Valley sedimentary formations (Equatorial Minnesota)
- A palaeontologist turns arthritis researcher (Musings of a Clumsy Paleontologist)
- Aaron Woodruff, Paleontologist (Time Scavengers)
- Kent Gibson Interview (Paleo Society)
- Ice age fossils return to Las Vegas after decades in California museum (Link)
Art, books, culture, and fun:
- New Perspectives in Pterosaur Palaeobiology (Archosaur Musings)
- Palaeontologists on the books and toys that inspired a lifelong love of dinosaurs (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, tweet it to us at @PLOSPaleo, or message us on Facebook.
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Sarah Z. Gibson 