The fossil record of Ceratophrys Wied-Neuwied (Anura: Ceratophryidae): a revision and update of fossil South American horned frogs

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4658 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-68
Author(s):  
LAURA NICOLI
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
South American ◽  
Unique Combination ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Environmental Tolerance ◽  
Pampean Region ◽  
Fossil Material ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Present Distribution ◽  
Living Species

Ceratophrys is the most diverse and widely distributed genus of Ceratophryidae, the clade of South American horned frogs. Numerous anuran fossil remains, including several fossil species, have been assigned to this genus. However, this seemingly extensive fossil record is problematic because several of the fossils are not properly identified and most of the taxonomic assignations are not justified. The present study traces all the fossil material attributed to Ceratophrys, clarifying, when possible, institutional allocations. Each of the remains was examined and its taxonomic assignation revisited, based on the morphology and possible synapomorphies of the genus, including its living species. Numerous fossils were properly identified and assigned with certainty to Ceratophrys. Only one fossil species, Ceratophrys ameghinorum, is considered valid. This information, along with recently reported evidence of fossil Ceratophrys, is briefly summarized to serve as a practical reference for the entire known fossil record of the genus. The fossil record is not especially informative about the evolution or distribution pattern of Ceratophrys, because most of the remains are relatively young (post-Miocene), collected within the present distribution of the genus, and morphologically consistent with that of the extant species. However, some useful information has emerged. The presence of Ceratophrys is well documented since the Neogene in the Pampean Region of South America. The single valid fossil species, Ceratophrys ameghinorum, possesses a unique combination of characters that reflects a mixture of characters observed in different clades of the genus; thus, resolution of its phylogentic position will inform our understanding of the evolution of the genus. The paleoenvironmental significance of some Ceratophrys fossils is also discussed, addressing the wide, but incompletely known current distribution and environmental tolerance of the genus.

The first potential fossil record of a dibamid reptile (Squamata: Dibamidae): a new taxon from the early Oligocene of Central Mongolia

2019 ◽  
Vol 187 (3) ◽  
pp. 782-799 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrej Čerňanský
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
Unique Combination ◽  
Central Mongolia ◽  
Squamate Reptiles ◽  
The Past ◽  
Early Oligocene ◽  
Fossil Material

Abstract Dibamid reptiles have a known current distribution on two continents (Asia and North America). Although this clade represents an early-diverging group in the Squamata and thus should have a long evolutionary history, no fossil record of these peculiar burrowing squamate reptiles has been documented so far. The fossil material described here comes from the early Oligocene of the Valley of Lakes in Central Mongolia. This material consists of jaws and is placed in the clade Dibamidae on the basis of its morphology, which is further confirmed by phylogenetic analyses. In spite of the fragmentary nature of this material, it thus forms the first, but putative, fossil evidence of this clade. If correctly interpreted, this material demonstrates the occurrence of Dibamidae in East Asia in the Palaeogene, indicating its distribution in higher latitudes than today. The preserved elements possess a unique combination of character states, and a new taxon name is therefore erected: Hoeckosaurus mongoliensis sp. nov. The dentary of Hoeckosaurus exhibits some characters of the two extant dibamid taxa. However, the open Meckel’s groove, together with other characters, show that this group was morphologically much more diverse in the past.

First South American record of the rare ichneumonoid subfamily Masoninae van Achterberg (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea: Ichneumonidae) with description of a new species from Brazil

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4664 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
DONALD L.J. QUICKE ◽  
JÚLIO CEZAR MÁRIO CHAUL ◽  
BUNTIKA A. BUTCHER
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
South America ◽  
South American ◽  
Undescribed Species ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Cosmopolitan Distribution ◽  
Dominican Amber ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
A New Species

Masona popeye Quicke & Chaul sp. n. is described from Brazil, and differentiated from other species of the genus. Described extant species of Masona are known from Australia and south eastern U.S.A. (Georgia and Florida including the Key Islands). Two undescribed species are known from Tanzania and Cambodia. The new species is therefore the first representative of the subfamily Masoninae van Achterberg from South America, demonstrating the completely cosmopolitan distribution of this very poorly known group. The new species most closely resembles a fossil species, M. pyriceps van Achterberg, 2001, from Dominican amber with which it shares the plesiomorphic presence of a scutellum. 

Atypical short elytra in Cretaceous short-winged flower beetles (Coleoptera: Kateretidae)

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 505-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID PERIS ◽  
JOSEF JELÍNEK
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Ancestral State ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
The Family

Although the family Kateretidae has fewer than 100 described extant species, its fossil record is growing. The description given here of Electrumeretes birmanicus gen. et sp. nov. and Polliniretes penalveri gen. et sp. nov. brings the number of fossil species in Kateretidae up to nine. Eight of the fossil species have been described from amber deposits and six are from the Cretaceous. All the Cretaceous fossil species and one from the Eocene share atypically short elytra and three dorsally exposed abdominal tergites, whereas in Recent relatives, even though they have shortened elytra, only the pygidium and a part of the preceding one or two abdominal tergites are exposed. It is suggested that shortened elytra (brachelytry) represents an ancestral state and that elytra may have become secondary longer in extant relatives.

The jumping plant-lice of the Neotropical genus Tainarys (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) associated with Anacardiaceae

Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4232 (4) ◽  
pp. 535 ◽  
Author(s):  
DANIEL BURCKHARDT ◽  
DALVA L. QUEIROZ
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Phylogenetic Relationships ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
South American ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Dominican Amber ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
East West

The Neotropical psyllid genus Tainarys Brèthes, 1920 is revised to include 14 extant and one fossil species from Dominican amber. Eight species are described as new, viz. Tainarys aroeira sp. nov., T. atra sp. nov., T. hapla sp. nov., T. myracrodrui sp. nov., T. nigricornis sp. nov., T. didyma sp. nov. and T. orientalis sp. nov. from Brazil, the last two also from Uruguay, as well as T. lozadai sp. nov. from Peru. The fifth instar immatures are described for nine species. †Vicinilura Klimaszewski, 1996, erected for the fossil †V. reposta Klimaszewski, 1996 and previously synonymised with Leurolophus Tuthill, 1942, is synonymised here (syn. nov.) with Tainarys and †V. reposta is transferred to become †Tainarys reposta (Klimaszewski), comb. nov. The descriptions are supplemented by illustrations and keys for the identification of adults and immatures. Phylogenetic relationships between species are investigated with a cladistic analysis using 22 adult and six immature morphological characters. The analysis resulted in a single most parsimonious, fully resolved tree. The fossil species is nested within the genus rather than being the sister taxon of the remainder of species. The extant species are restricted to the subtropical and temperate parts of South America. Three pairs of sister clades display an east‒west South American and one a midwest‒southern Brazilian geographical vicariance. Host plants are confirmed for nine and likely for another four species. They are Astronium, Haplorhus, Myracrodruon, Schinopsis and Schinus (Anacardiaceae). All Tainarys species appear to be oligophagous inducing irregular leaf curls on their hosts. 

The southernmost fossil record of Squamates

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Albino ◽  
Santiago Brizuela ◽  
Sergio Vizcaíno
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Early Miocene ◽  
Substantial Part ◽  
South American ◽  
Santa Cruz ◽  
Origin And Evolution ◽  
Present Distribution ◽  
First Time

Squamates form a substantial part of the present-day South American herpetofauna, and their fossils constitute an indispensable evidence for understanding the origin and evolution of the main taxa. Squamates are relatively common in Miocene localities of Patagonia, especially in levels of the late early Miocene Santa Cruz Formation. In this contribution, remains of the three species of the extinct iguanidErichosaurusAmeghino 1899 (E. diminutus,E. bombimaxillaandE. debilis) are redescribed, and new squamate specimens are reported for first time. The genusErichosaurusis considered invalid.Erichosaurus debilis,E. diminutusand a new specimen are recognized as indeterminate species of the extant polichrotinePristidactylus, whereasE. bombimaxillaremains as an indeterminate iguanid. Snakes are represented by an indeterminate colubrid. All these specimens, together with a tupinambine teiid previously described for the same formation, represent the southernmost fossil record of squamates in South America and indicate the occurrence of the iguanidPristidactylus, the teiidTupinambisand the colubrid snakes south to their present distribution as back as during the early Miocene.

On the probability of ancestors in the fossil record

Paleobiology ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Foote
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Marine Invertebrates ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Direct Descendant ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Homogeneous Models ◽  
Temporal And Spatial

Three homogeneous models of species origination and extinction are used to assess the probability that ancestor-descendant pairs are preserved in the fossil record. In the model of cladogenetic budding, a species can persist after it branches and can therefore have multiple direct descendants. In the bifurcation model, a species branches to give rise to two distinct direct descendants, itself terminating in the process. In the model of phyletic transformation, a species gives rise to a single direct descendant without branching, itself terminating in the process. Assuming homogeneous preservation, even under pessimistic assumptions regarding the completeness of the fossil record, the probability of finding fossil ancestor-descendant pairs is not negligible. Even if all species of Phanerozoic marine invertebrates in the paleontologically important taxa had the same probability of preservation, on the order of 1%-10% or more of the known fossil species would be directly ancestral to other known fossil species. However, this is likely to be an underestimate, since the probability of finding ancestor-descendant pairs is enhanced by taxonomic, temporal, and spatial heterogeneities in preservation probability. Moreover, indirect genealogical relationships substantially increase the probability of finding ancestor-descendant pairs. The model of budding, the only one in which an ancestor can persist after a branching event, predicts that half or more of extant species have ancestors that are also extant. Thus, the question of how to recognize ancestor-descendant pairs must be carefully considered.

Integrating palaeo- and archaeobotanical data for a synthesis of the Italian fossil record of Lycopus (Lamiaceae, Mentheae)

Phytotaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 513 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
EDOARDO MARTINETTO ◽  
NICOLA M. G. ARDENGHI ◽  
DANIELE AROBBA ◽  
ADELE BERTINI ◽  
GIOVANNA BOSI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
West Siberia ◽  
Morphological Type ◽  
Herbaceous Plant ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Early Oligocene ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
First Occurrence

Lycopus is a widespread herbaceous plant, currently part of European flora. Fossil remains of fruits (nutlets or mericarps) attributed to this genus are frequently found in European archaeological and palaeontological sites, being easily preserved in sedimentary deposits. In a worldwide context, the oldest fossils are from the early Oligocene (ca. 30 Ma) of West Siberia, but they become more common in Miocene (23.0–5.3 Ma) records, ranging from West Siberia to Central Europe. In the literature, the Oligocene and Miocene remains (plus a few Pliocene ones) were assigned to fossil-species, whereas the abundant Pliocene and Pleistocene occurrences (5–0.01 Ma) in Europe were mainly assigned to the extant species L. europaeus. The present work is conceived as the result of an ad hoc research team whose task was to revise and summarize the Italian fossil record of Lycopus, assembling palaeobotanical and archaeobotanical data. We herein report ca. 6000 Lycopus nutlets from 61 sites located in nine regions of Northern and Central Italy. Based on the available information on extant species, we detected nine morphological types of nutlets that can be used for the characterisation of fossils. Our analysis suggests that from 4 to 2.6 Ma a single taxon (L. cf. pliocenicus) with L. americanus-type of nutlets occurred in Italy. The first occurrence of the latter morphological type is from the early Oligocene of West Siberia. The available fossils mildly suggest that extant L. americanus could be the descendant of ancient Eurasian plants characterised by the L. americanus-type of nutlets, through expansion of their range to North America. Conversely, the abundant Italian records of the last 0.2 Ma, including remains from archaeological sites, are only referable to the Eurasian species L. europaeus.

Ancestral area analysis of Nothofagus (Nothofagaceae) and its congruence with the fossil record

2000 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulf Swenson ◽  
Robert S. Hill ◽  
Stephen McLoughlin
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Source Area ◽  
South American ◽  
Ancestral Area ◽  
Centre Of Origin ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Nothofagus Antarctica ◽  
Areas Of Endemism ◽  
Open Question ◽  
Current Modelling

The evolutionary centre of origin of Nothofagus (Nothofagaceae) remains an open question. Competing hypotheses suggest either a South American or Australasian source area for Nothofagus. Antarctica, once part of Gondwana and densely vegetated in the Cretaceous, was certainly important for the diversification of the genus but cannot be included in current modelling due to its lack of extant species. By using Bremer’s (1992), Ronquist’s (1994) and Hausdorf’s (1998) methods, all based on cladistic philosophy, analyses of the modern areas of endemism being part of the ancestral area of Nothofagus were undertaken. Southern South America was distinctly identified as the likely ancestral area by Bremer’s and Hausdorf’s methods. This result is supported by the current fossil record. Ronquist’s method was not decisive and yielded ambiguous results, suggesting a larger, combined ancestral area. These results do not favour Australasia, or parts thereof, being an important area for Nothofagus origin. Bremer’s and Hausdorf’s methods identified New Zealand as the second most plausible source area, a result partly supported by the fossil record.

First fossil Litoleptis (Diptera: Spaniidae) from the Lower Cretaceous amber of San Just (Teruel Province, Spain)

Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2026 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANTONIO ARILLO ◽  
ENRIQUE PEÑALVER ◽  
VICTORIA GARCÍA-GIMENO
Keyword(s):  
Lower Cretaceous ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Wing Venation ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
The Family ◽  
First Time

In this paper Litoleptis fossilis sp. nov. a new fossil species belonging to the family Spaniidae (Diptera) is described. This is the first time the genus Litoleptis has been described from the fossil record. A comparison with extant species of Litoleptis and other fossil rhagionoids is done. The fossil is also compared to not closely related Diptera but having convergent wing venation. Palaeoecological and palaeobiogeographical comments are provided.

How good was the fossil record? Clues from the Californian Pleistocene

Paleobiology ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Valentine
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Rare Species ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Marine Invertebrate ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Invertebrate Species ◽  
Lithostratigraphic Units ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Original Record

The living members of 113 families of bivalves and gastropods of the Californian Province include 698 species living at shelf depths, of which 538 or 77% are known as Pleistocene fossils from the same region; another 113 fossil species are extralimital, and 98 are extinct. Living species not found as fossils are chiefly rare today, and/or minute, fragile, and/or from deeper shelf habitats. Sampling of the Pleistocene record has been biased towards shallow-water assemblages. Fragile and minute forms are probably underrepresented in the record. Rare forms, however, are still appearing as new studies are conducted, and many rare species are yet to be discovered. At least 85% of durably skeletonized living species may have been captured in the record. It is probable that most durably skeletonized invertebrate species were represented in lithostratigraphic units throughout the Phanerozoic, but that this record is lost owing to erosion, burial, and destruction of skeletons in situ. The bulk of the marine invertebrate fossil record does not represent a series of unusual skeletal accumulations, but rather the preserved remnants of an excellent original record formed through ordinary though episodic processes.

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