A review of Silvanerpeton miripedes, a stem amniote from the Lower Carboniferous of East Kirkton, West Lothian, Scotland

2006 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcello Ruta ◽  
Jennifer A. Clack
Keyword(s):  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
Lower Carboniferous ◽  
Total Group ◽  
Skull Roof ◽  
Lower Jaw ◽  
First Time ◽  
Basal Position

ABSTRACTPreviously described and new specimens of the anthracosaur Silvanerpeton miripedes from the Scottish Viséan of East Kirkton yield important new data which allow us to provide a more complete reconstruction of the skull roof, palate, braincase and lower jaw. A stout sacral rib and an incompletely ossified tarsus with a subquadrangular intermedium are also recorded for the first time. A remarkably well preserved humerus in extensor view shows similarities with humeri of immature specimens of the embolomere Proterogyrinus. A new cladistic analysis, built from combining characters used in two recent matrices, places Silvanerpeton in a basal position relative to embolomeres and more derived stem amniotes. Data from Silvanerpeton inform character polarity near the base of the amniote total group. We discuss some morphofunctional implications of character changes at the root of total group amniotes, acquisition of terrestrial habits, and patterns of early disparity in this clade.

scholarly journals Revision of the Xenacanthida (Chondrichthyes: Elasmobranchii) from the Carboniferous of the British Isles

2002 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Hampe
Keyword(s):  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
Type Specimen ◽  
British Isles ◽  
The West ◽  
Lower Carboniferous ◽  
Dead End ◽  
West Midlands ◽  
Successful Group ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time

ABSTRACTXenacanthids were a very successful group of elasmobranchs that ranged from the Lower Carboniferous to the Upper Triassic. The history of discovery of the xenacanthids, which is closely connected with the history of coal prospecting in England, began with the finding of the type specimen of Xenacanthus laevissimus in the Westphalian B of the West Midlands. In this first review of British Carboniferous xenacanthids, the number of taxa, mainly erected during Victorian times, is reduced to 14 species distributed among six genera. Determinable remains are recorded from at least 96 localities in the British Isles. Unique characteristics of the Dinantian Diplodoselache suggest that the lineage to which this taxon belongs marks a dead end in xenacanthid evolution. This investigation also shows that the Pendleian Dicentrodus, formerly described as Cladodus, belongs to the xenacanthids. The occurrence of Orthacanthus cf. kounoviensis in the Pennines, also known from the German Saar-Nahe basin, the Saale depression and from Bohemia, indicates a faunal exchange between these intramontainous basins during the Carboniferous. The genus Triodus is identified from British deposits for the first time. A cladistic analysis of the xenacanthids suggests that they evolved from phoebodontid elasmobranchs. This analysis also confirms separation of the Middle Devonian Antarctilamna from a relationship with xenacanthid sharks.

The inadunate crinoid genus Cryphiocrinus Kirk

1977 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harrell L. Strimple
Keyword(s):  
West Virginia ◽  
Type Species ◽  
Lower Carboniferous ◽  
First Time

SummaryCryphiocrinus Kirk is a genus which may possess a delicate stem, or may lose the stem as an adult, making it essentially eleutherozoic. C. girtyi Kirk, type species, is documented with certainty from Chesterian rocks of Oklahoma and Arkansas for the first time. C. rotundus Kirk is reported from the Renault Formation of Illinois and a possible occurrence in the Pride Mountain Formation of Alabama is noted. The genus has previously been recognized in Chesterian, Upper Mississippian, (Lower Carboniferous), strata exposed in West Virginia, Kentucky and Oklahoma, U.S.A. Possible affinity with Hosieocrinus Wright from the Lower Limestone Group (Visean) in Scotland is discussed.

Phylogeny and re-definition of the genus Melanophora (Diptera: Rhinophoridae), with description of a new species from Sardinia

Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2318 (1) ◽  
pp. 552-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
PIERFILIPPO CERRETTI ◽  
THOMAS PAPE
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Type Species ◽  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
The Other ◽  
New Combinations ◽  
Generic Delimitation ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
First Time ◽  
A New Species

A cladistic analysis of the genus Melanophora Meigen, 1803 (type-species: Musca grossificationis Linnaeus, 1758 [= Musca roralis Linnaeus, 1758]) is presented and the generic delimitation is critically redefined. The nominal genus-group taxon Bequaertiana Curran, 1929 (type-species: Bequaertiana argyriventris Curran, 1929) is synonymised with Melanophora Meigen syn. nov. The following new combinations are proposed: Melanophora argyriventris (Curran, 1929) comb. nov. and Melanophora basilewskyi (Peris, 1957) comb. nov. Melanophora chia sp. nov. from SW Sardinia is described, illustrated and compared with the other known species of the genus. The male of Melanophora asetosa Kugler, 1978 is described for the first time. Melanophora basilewskyi (Peris, 1957) is recorded from Kenya for the first time.

The species of Rhyncosaurus , a rhynchosaur (Reptilia, Diapsida) from the Middle Triassic of England

1990 ◽  
Vol 328 (1247) ◽  
pp. 213-306 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Body Length ◽  
Middle Triassic ◽  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
Total Body Length ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Occipital Condyle ◽  
Stratigraphic Sequence ◽  
Skull Length ◽  
Aeolian Deposits ◽  
Lower Jaw

The rhynchosaur Rhynchosaurus articeps Owen, 1842, from the Middle Triassic of Grinshill, northern Shropshire, England, was a small reptile, about 0.5 m long. About 17 individual animals are represented by skulls, complete skeletons and partial skeletons, and these have permitted detailed restorations. The skull (60-80 mm long) is low and broad at the back, and it shows all of the typical rhynchosaur features of beak-like premaxillae, single median naris, fused parietal, broad maxillary tooth plate and dentary, both with multiple rows of teeth, and a deep lower jaw. The skeleton shows adaptations for fast terrestrial locomotion with a semi-erect hindlimb posture and for scratch-digging with the hind-foot. The skeleton is relatively more slender than that of most other middle and late Triassic rhynchosaurs, but this is probably an allometric effect of its much smaller size (they are typically 1-2 m long). A further species of Rhynchosaurus from Warwick, named here R. brodiei , is represented by 15 specimens of partial skulls, tooth-bearing elements, and isolated postcranial bones. It was slightly larger than R. articeps , with a typical skull length of 90 mm, and estimated body length of 0.6 m, but the skull length ranged up to 140 mm. It differs from R. articeps in having a much larger jugal in the cheek area, and in the greater height and breadth of the skull. The isolated maxillary fragments from Bromsgrove probably also belong to R. brodiei . The third species of Rhynchosaurus from Devon, named here R. spenceri , is now known from numerous specimens of at least 25 individuals, most of which were collected recently. These show a range in estimated skull length from 40 to 170 mm, but most specimens are at the upper end of that range, with an average skull length of 140 mm, and an estimated total body length of 0.9-1.0 m R. spenceri differs from R. articeps and R. brodiei in having a skull that is broader than it is long (otherwise a character of late Triassic rhynchosaurs), and it shares the large jugal character with R. brodiei . Teeth are not well preserved in R. articeps, but several specimens of R. brodiei and R. spenceri give detailed information. The pattern of wear, and the nature of the jaw joint, suggest that Rhynchosaurus had a precision-shear bite, as in other rhynchosaurs, with no back and forwards motion. The maxilla had two grooves, a major and a minor one, which received two matching ridges of the dentary on occlusion. The multiple rows of teeth on maxilla and dentary, and the surrounding bone, wore down as uniform units. The diet was probably tough vegetation, which was dug up by scratch-digging, raked together with the hands or the premaxillary beak, and manipulated in the mouth by a strong tongue. Rhynchosaurus is found variously in fluvial-intertidal deposits with evidence of desiccation (Grinshill, Warwick, Bromsgrove), and fluvial-aeolian deposits laid down in arid conditions with occasional flash floods (Devon). The bones have generally been transported (Warwick, Bromsgrove, Devon), but the Grinshill specimens are largely complete and undisturbed. The associated floras and faunas at Warwick, Bromsgrove, and Devon include pteridophytes, gymnospermopsids, bivalves, scorpions, freshwater fish, temnospondyl amphibians and reptiles (macrocnemids, thecodontians, ?procolophonids). Rhynchosaurs are archosauromorph diapsids, possibly related to the enigmatic Trilophosaurus, and a sister group to Prolacertiformes + Archosauria. A cladistic analysis of Rhynchosauria reveals one major subgroup, the Hyperodapedontinae ( Hyperodapedonand and Scaphonyx ), which is late Triassic in age. The earlier rhynchosaurs, including the middle Triassic Stenaulorhynchus and Rhynchosaurus , appear to form successively closer outgroups to the Hyperodapedontinae. The three species of Rhynchosaurus share only one possible synapomorphy in comparison with Stenaluorhynchus : The dentary is well over half the length of the lower jaw. The ‘Rhynchosaurinae’ ( Stenaulorhynchus and Rhynchosaurus ) was not established as a monophyletic group in the present analysis. These two genera share two postulated synapomorphies: the occipital condyle lies well in front of the quadrates, and there are two grooves on the maxilla and two ridges on the dentary. A third postulated synapomorphy, the presence of a single row of teeth on the pterygoid, has not been confirmed in this study for either Rhynchosaurus or Stenaulorhynchus . However, these postulated synapomorphies are outweighed by the synapomorphies that Rhynchosaurus shares with the Hyperodapedontinae. The specimens of Rhynchosaurus have been used as biostratigraphic indicators for the English middle Triassic, indicating Anisian to early Ladinian ages. The three species can be arranged in a sequence from ‘most prim itive’ to ‘most advanced’, but this cannot be used confidently to give a stratigraphic sequence.

Revision of Cyriocosmus Simon, 1903, with notes on the genus Hapalopus Ausserer, 1875 (Araneae: Theraphosidae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 846 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
CAROLINE SAYURI FUKUSHIMA ◽  
ROGÉRIO BERTANI ◽  
PEDRO ISMAEL DA SILVA
Keyword(s):  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
New Combination ◽  
Additional Material ◽  
First Time

The genus Cyriocosmus Simon, 1903 is revised based on most types and additional material from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Tobago Island and Venezuela. Two species are newly described from Brazil: Cyriocosmus nogueira-netoi and Cyriocosmus fernandoi. The species Cyriocosmus fasciatus (Mello-Leitão, 1930), formerly synonymized with Cyriocosmus elegans, is revalidated. Metriopelma nigriventris (Mello-Leitão, 1939) and Cyriocosmus butantan Pérez-Miles, 1998 are transferred to Hapalopus Ausserer, 1875, proposing Hapalopus nigriventris (Mello-Leitão, 1939) new combination and Hapalopus butantan (Pérez-Miles, 1998) new combination. The female of Hapalopus butantan is described for the first time. All 11 species of Cyriocosmus are diagnosed and keyed. A cladistic analysis with 28 characters and 19 taxa was carried out. Searches using three phylogenetic packages found a single, totally resolved tree with the same topology.

scholarly journals Acherontiscus caledoniae : the earliest heterodont and durophagous tetrapod

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 182087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer A. Clack ◽  
Marcello Ruta ◽  
Andrew R. Milner ◽  
John E. A. Marshall ◽  
Timothy R. Smithson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vertebral Column ◽  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
Early Carboniferous ◽  
Late Devonian ◽  
Dental Morphology ◽  
Hard Tissue ◽  
Skull Length ◽  
Varied Diet ◽  
First Time ◽  
Morphological Innovation

The enigmatic tetrapod Acherontiscus caledoniae from the Pendleian stage of the Early Carboniferous shows heterodontous and durophagous teeth, representing the earliest known examples of significant adaptations in tetrapod dental morphology. Tetrapods of the Late Devonian and Early Carboniferous (Mississippian), now known in some depth, are generally conservative in their dentition and body morphologies. Their teeth are simple and uniform, being cone-like and sometimes recurved at the tip. Modifications such as keels occur for the first time in Early Carboniferous Tournaisian tetrapods. Acherontiscus , dated as from the Pendleian stage, is notable for being very small with a skull length of about 15 mm, having an elongate vertebral column and being limbless. Cladistic analysis places it close to the Early Carboniferous adelospondyls, aïstopods and colosteids and supports the hypothesis of ‘lepospondyl’ polyphyly. Heterodonty is associated with a varied diet in tetrapods, while durophagy suggests a diet that includes hard tissue such as chitin or shells. The mid-Carboniferous saw a significant increase in morphological innovation among tetrapods, with an expanded diversity of body forms, skull shapes and dentitions appearing for the first time.

Systematics and biogeography of the spider genus Mallinella Strand, 1906, with descriptions of new species and new genera from Southeast Asia (Araneae, Zodariidae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3369 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
PAKAWIN DANKITTIPAKUL ◽  
RUDY JOCQUÉ ◽  
TIPPAWAN SINGTRIPOP
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
Indian Species ◽  
As Species ◽  
History Of ◽  
Nomina Dubia ◽  
Species Groups ◽  
First Time

The systematics status of the spider genus Mallinella Strand, 1906 (Araneae, Zodariidae), the phylogenetic relationshipof the species within the genus and its relationships to other zodariids were investigated by means of cladistic analysis ofmorphological data. Mallinella is redefined and characterized by a single synapomorphy: the presence of posterior ventralspines situated in front of the spinnerets arranged in a single row. The genus is clearly palaeotropical, occurring in Africa,Indian subcontinent, Indo-Burma, Sundaland, Wallacea and Polynesia-Micronesia.Two hundred and two (202) Mallinella species are treated. One hundred and one (101) species are described as newand placed in twenty-two (22) species-groups, making Mallinella the largest zodariid genus. Nineteen (19) species are redescribed, the conspecific sex of seven (7) species is discovered and described for the first time. Fifteen (15) new com-binations are proposed. Nine (9) Storena species are here transferred to Mallinella: M. beauforti (Kulczyński, 1911) comb.nov., M. sciophana (Simon, 1901) comb. nov., M. sobria (Thorell, 1890) comb. nov., M. fasciata (Kulczyński, 1911)comb. nov., M. vicaria (Kulczyński, 1911) comb. nov., M. redimita (Simon, 1905) comb. nov., M. melanognatha (van Has-selt, 1882) comb. nov., M. nilgherina (Simon, 1906) comb. nov., M. vittata (Thorell, 1890) comb. nov. Two Storena spe-cies are transferred to Asceua: A. dispar (Kulczyński, 1911) comb. nov., A. quinquestrigata (Simon, 1905) comb. nov. OneStorena species is transferred to Oedignatha (Liocranidae): O. aleipata (Marples, 1955) comb. nov. One Storena speciesis transferred to Cybaeodamus: C. lentiginosus (Simon, 1905) comb. nov. Storena tricolor Simon, 1908 is transferred tothe Asteron complex of Australia. Three Storena and two Mallinella species are misplaced; they belong to undescribedgenera (S. kraepelini Simon, 1905; S. lesserti Berland, 1938; S. parvula Berland, 1938; M. khanhoa Logunov, 2010; M.rectangulata Zhang et al., 2011). Mallinella vittata (Thorell, 1890) comb. nov. is revalidated and removed from the syn-onymy with M. zebra (Thorell, 1881). Storena vittata Caporiacco, 1955 is removed from homonym replacement (S. ca-poriaccoi Brignoli, 1983) with S. vittata Thorell, 1890 (= M. vittata comb. nov.). Storena annulipes Thorell, 1892 isremoved from its preoccupied name with S. annulipes (L. Koch, 1867) in Storena and transferred to Mallinella; its re-placement name S. cinctipes Simon, 1893 is suppressed.Zodarion luzonicum Simon, 1893, Storena multiguttata Simon, 1893, S. semiflava Simon, 1893 and S. obnubila Si-mon, 1901 are regarded as nomina dubia. Six Indian species were misplaced in Storena; they belong to one of the follow-ing genera: Mallinella, Heliconilla gen. nov., Workmania gen. nov., Heradion, or Euryeidon. These taxa are S. arakuensisPatel & Reddy, 1989, S. debasrae Biswas & Biswas, 1992, S. dibangensis Biswas & Biswas, 2006, S. gujaratensis Tikader& Patel, 1975, S. indica Tikader & Patel, 1975 and S. tikaderi Patel & Reddy, 1989. They are regarded as species incertaesedis.A new genus, Heliconilla gen. nov., is proposed for nine species, six of which are new to science while the otherthree are transferred from Mallinella and Storena. These taxa are: H. irrorata (Thorell, 1887) comb. nov., H. oblonga(Zhang & Zhu, 2009) comb. nov., H. thaleri (Dankittipakul & Schwendinger, 2009) comb. nov.Workmania gen. nov. is established to accommodate two species from Southeast Asia; W. juvenca (Workman, 1896)comb. nov. is transferred from Storena.It is unlikely that the origin of Mallinella dates back more than 100 MYA. Mallinella or its ancestor is believed tohave evolved during the Cretaceous, after the separation of South America from Gondwana, and the greater part of itsevolution took place during the Tertiary. The Asian-Australian lineages of Mallinella could migrate to India via GreaterSomalia before or after the K-T extinction (65 MYA), before the Indian subcontinent joined Asia (ca. 45 MYA).The bio-geographic history of the genus involves plate tectonics during the Cretaceous and the Cenozoic in combination with cli-matic changes and alternating climatic cycles which might have led to episodes of range expansion, isolation of populations and allopatric speciation.

Revision of the cluster-flies of the Pollenia venturii species-group, with a cladistic analysis of Palaearctic species of Pollenia Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

1992 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Knut Rognes
Keyword(s):  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Sister Group ◽  
Reproductive Organs ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Palaearctic Species ◽  
Internal Wall ◽  
Species Groups ◽  
First Time ◽  
Female Reproductive Organs

AbstractWithin Pollenia Robineau-Desvoidy a venturii species-group is defined and revised. It consists of a single species P. venturii Zumpt. P. solitaria Grunin is proposed as a junior synonym. It is characterized by unique features in the male aedeagus and the lateral sacs of the internal female reproductive organs. Male and female terminalia are illustrated, the latter for the first time. A preliminary cladistic analysis of all known Palaearctic species of Pollenia (except P. japonica Kano & Shinonaga) suggests that the sister-group of P. venturii is a clade consisting of the viatica + vagabunda + amentaria + haeretica species-groups. A sclerotized internal wall of the lateral sacs in the internal reproductive system of female Pollenia appears to be a parallelism developed independently in the venturii, rudis, most members of the tenuiforceps and some members of the semicinerea groups, rather than an underlying synapomorphy. P. venturii is known from France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Russia. A key is provided to species-groups in Pollenia.

scholarly journals Characterization of the complete genomes of Camelus dromedarius papillomavirus types 1 and 2

2011 ◽  
Vol 92 (8) ◽  
pp. 1769-1777 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. Ure ◽  
A. K. Elfadl ◽  
A. I. Khalafalla ◽  
A. A. R. Gameel ◽  
J. Dillner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Diagnostic Methods ◽  
Camelus Dromedarius ◽  
Bovine Papillomavirus ◽  
Lower Jaw ◽  
The Family ◽  
Complete Genomes ◽  
First Time

Camel papillomatosis has been described previously, but the genome of the suspected papillomavirus (PV) has not been identified. An outbreak of papillomatosis occurred in a dromedary farm of 55 animals in Sudan during August 2009. The disease was only present in young animals aged about 3–7 months, of which 44 % (11/25) were affected with lesions, mainly on the lips and lower jaw. This study reports for the first time the complete genomes of Camelus dromedarius papillomavirus types 1 (CdPV1) and 2 (CdPV2), isolated from a cauliflower-like nodule and a round oval raised nodule, respectively. Pairwise comparisons of their L1 nucleotide sequences revealed 69.2 % identity, and phylogenetic analyses suggested that these two PV types are grouped within the genus Deltapapillomavirus. Both viruses were isolated from fibropapillomas, although no putative E5 proteins homologous to that of bovine papillomavirus type 1 were identified. The genetic information will be useful for evolutionary studies of the family Papillomaviridae, as well as for the development of diagnostic methods for surveillance of the disease in dromedaries.

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