Body size evolution and habitat colonization across 100 million years (Late Jurassic-Paleocene) of the actinopterygian evolutionary history

Early members of the dinosaur–pterosaur clade Ornithodira are very rare in the fossil record, obscuring our understanding of the origins of this important group. Here, we describe an early ornithodiran (Kongonaphon kelygen. et sp. nov.) from the Mid-to-Upper Triassic of Madagascar that represents one of the smallest nonavian ornithodirans. Although dinosaurs and gigantism are practically synonymous, an analysis of body size evolution in dinosaurs and other archosaurs in the context of this taxon and related forms demonstrates that the earliest-diverging members of the group may have been smaller than previously thought, and that a profound miniaturization event occurred near the base of the avian stem lineage. In phylogenetic analysis,Kongonaphonis recovered as a member of the Triassic ornithodiran clade Lagerpetidae, expanding the range of this group into Africa and providing data on the craniodental morphology of lagerpetids. The conical teeth ofKongonaphonexhibit pitted microwear consistent with a diet of hard-shelled insects, indicating a shift in trophic ecology to insectivory associated with diminutive body size. Small ancestral body size suggests that the extreme rarity of early ornithodirans in the fossil record owes more to taphonomic artifact than true reflection of the group’s evolutionary history.

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ECO-PHYSIOLOGICAL DRIVERS OF BODY SIZE EVOLUTION IN MARINE ANIMALS

10.1130/abs/2018am-320104 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Noel A. Heim ◽

◽

Jonathan L. Payne

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Marine Animals ◽

Size Evolution ◽

Body Size Evolution

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Dinosaur Macroevolution and Macroecology

Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics ◽

10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110617-062231 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

pp. 379-408 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Roger B.J. Benson

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Body Size ◽

Reproductive Biology ◽

Fossil Record ◽

Structural Diversity ◽

Body Plan ◽

Adaptive Landscape ◽

Species Diversification ◽

Size Evolution ◽

Body Size Evolution

Dinosaurs were large-bodied land animals of the Mesozoic that gave rise to birds. They played a fundamental role in structuring Jurassic–Cretaceous ecosystems and had physiology, growth, and reproductive biology unlike those of extant animals. These features have made them targets of theoretical macroecology. Dinosaurs achieved substantial structural diversity, and their fossil record documents the evolutionary assembly of the avian body plan. Phylogeny-based research has allowed new insights into dinosaur macroevolution, including the adaptive landscape of their body size evolution, patterns of species diversification, and the origins of birds and bird-like traits. Nevertheless, much remains unknown due to incompleteness of the fossil record at both local and global scales. This presents major challenges at the frontier of paleobiological research regarding tests of macroecological hypotheses and the effects of dinosaur biology, ecology, and life history on their macroevolution.

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The developmental and physiological basis of body size evolution in an insect

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2001.1698 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 268 (1476) ◽

pp. 1589-1593 ◽

Cited By ~ 103

Author(s):

Louis J. D'Amico ◽

Goggy Davidowitz ◽

H. Frederik Nijhout

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Physiological Basis ◽

Size Evolution ◽

Body Size Evolution

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Mechanisms behind Active Trends in Body Size Evolution of the Canidae (Carnivora: Mammalia)

The American Naturalist ◽

10.1086/522846 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 170 (6) ◽

pp. 876-885 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

John A. Finarelli

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Size Evolution ◽

Body Size Evolution

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Mammal body size evolution in North America and Europe over 20 Myr: similar trends generated by different processes

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2016.2361 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 284 (1849) ◽

pp. 20162361 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Shan Huang ◽

Jussi T. Eronen ◽

Christine M. Janis ◽

Juha J. Saarinen ◽

Daniele Silvestro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

North America ◽

Biological Properties ◽

Species Selection ◽

Minimum Size ◽

Extinction Rate ◽

Large Herbivores ◽

Size Evolution ◽

Geographical Regions ◽

Body Size Evolution

Because body size interacts with many fundamental biological properties of a species, body size evolution can be an essential component of the generation and maintenance of biodiversity. Here we investigate how body size evolution can be linked to the clade-specific diversification dynamics in different geographical regions. We analyse an extensive body size dataset of Neogene large herbivores (covering approx. 50% of the 970 species in the orders Artiodactyla and Perissodactyla) in Europe and North America in a Bayesian framework. We reconstruct the temporal patterns of body size in each order on each continent independently, and find significant increases of minimum size in three of the continental assemblages (except European perissodactyls), suggesting an active selection for larger bodies. Assessment of trait-correlated birth-death models indicates that the common trend of body size increase is generated by different processes in different clades and regions. Larger-bodied artiodactyl species on both continents tend to have higher origination rates, and both clades in North America show strong links between large bodies and low extinction rate. Collectively, our results suggest a strong role of species selection and perhaps of higher-taxon sorting in driving body size evolution, and highlight the value of investigating evolutionary processes in a biogeographic context.

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Inconsistent patterns of body size evolution in co-occurring island reptiles

Global Ecology and Biogeography ◽

10.1111/geb.12716 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 27 (5) ◽

pp. 538-550 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Yuval Itescu ◽

Rachel Schwarz ◽

Colin M. Donihue ◽

Alex Slavenko ◽

Stephanos A. Roussos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Size Evolution ◽

Body Size Evolution

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Migratory lineages rapidly evolve larger body sizes than non-migratory relatives in ray-finned fishes

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2019.2615 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 287 (1918) ◽

pp. 20192615 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Michael D. Burns ◽

Devin D. Bloom

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Life History Theory ◽

Environmental Heterogeneity ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Adaptive Landscape ◽

Migratory Species ◽

Size Evolution ◽

Body Sizes ◽

Body Size Evolution ◽

First Time

Migratory animals respond to environmental heterogeneity by predictably moving long distances in their lifetime. Migration has evolved repeatedly in animals, and many adaptations are found across the tree of life that increase migration efficiency. Life-history theory predicts that migratory species should evolve a larger body size than non-migratory species, and some empirical studies have shown this pattern. A recent study analysed the evolution of body size between diadromous and non-diadromous shads, herrings, anchovies and allies, finding that species evolved larger body sizes when adapting to a diadromous lifestyle. It remains unknown whether different fish clades adapt to migration similarly. We used an adaptive landscape framework to explore body size evolution for over 4500 migratory and non-migratory species of ray-finned fishes. By fitting models of macroevolution, we show that migratory species are evolving towards a body size that is larger than non-migratory species. Furthermore, we find that migratory lineages evolve towards their optimal body size more rapidly than non-migratory lineages, indicating body size is a key adaption for migratory fishes. Our results show, for the first time, that the largest vertebrate radiation on the planet exhibited strong evolutionary determinism when adapting to a migratory lifestyle.

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