The Karate New Papers

["Harris, Jerald" <jharris@dixie.edu>]

Nieuwland, I. 2010. The colossal stranger. Andrew Carnegie and Diplodocus 
intrude European Culture, 1904â1912 Endeavour 34(2):61-68. doi: 
10.1016/j.endeavour.2010.04.001.





Blain, H.-A., Canudo, J.-I., Cuenca-BescÃs, G., and LÃpez-MartÃnez, N. 2010. 
Amphibians and squamate reptiles from the latest Maastrichtian (Upper 
Cretaceous) of Blasi 2 (Huesca, Spain) Cretaceous Research. doi: 
10.1016/j.cretres.2010.06.001.

ABSTRACT: An assemblage of amphibians and squamates from the Upper 
Maastrichtian of the Iberian Peninsula is described here for the first time. 
The material is disarticulated and comes from the Blasi 2 site of Huesca, 
Spain). The site is made up of grey marls belonging to the lower part of the 
Tremp Formation, and contains dinosaurs, crocodilians, testudines and 
Osteichthyes. The amphibians from Blasi 2 include one albanerpetontid 
(Albanerpeton aff. nexuosum) and two different anuran taxa: a discoglossid and 
a palaeobatrachid. The squamates comprise three lizards (two indeterminate 
lizards and one anguid) as well as an indeterminate snake (Alethinophidia). The 
vertebrate assemblage may be interpreted as pertaining to an aquatic 
environment and its terrestrial surroundings. The presence of estuarine fishes, 
freshwater amphibians and marine invertebrates together suggests that Blasi 2 
may correspond to a coastal, mangrove-like swamp. The amphibians and squamates 
of Blasi 2 are typically Laurasiatic taxa. This contrasts with the older 
(Campanian-Maastrichtian) sites of the Iberian Peninsula, where typical 
Gondwanan taxa have been identified. Blasi 2 provides important information on 
the biodiversity of amphibians and squamate reptiles in the north of the 
Iberian Peninsula during the late Maastrichtian, from a point just a few 
hundred thousand years before the K-T boundary event. These taxa have 
representatives in the Cenozoic, so as a group they do not appear to have been 
affected by the boundary event.





Bolet, A., and Evans, S.E. 2010. A new lizard from the Early Cretaceous of 
Catalonia (Spain), and the Mesozoic lizards of the Iberian peninsula. 
Cretaceous Research. doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2010.06.002.

ABSTRACT: The Early Cretaceous (late Berriasian-early Valanginan) locality of 
La Pedrera de Meià (Montsec, Catalonia, Spain) has yielded remains of at least 
two genera of lizards: Meyasaurus (including its synonym Ilerdaesaurus and 
possibly Rubiessaurus) and Eichstaettisaurus. A new lizard specimen is 
described and named here as Pedrerasaurus latifrontalis gen. et sp. nov., being 
sufficiently distinct from other known genera to warrant the erection of a new 
taxon. The results of phylogenetic analysis are equivocal but support the 
placement of the new genus within Scincogekkonomorpha. The new taxon resembles 
Meyasaurus, a genus widely distributed in the Lower Cretaceous of the Iberian 
Peninsula, in having bicuspid teeth but differs in lacking the characteristic 
fusion and constriction of the frontals. Pedrerasaurus  and Meyasaurus may be 
related, but the support for this is not strong. Recognition of a clearly 
distinct form with bicuspid teeth is significant in terms of attribution of 
fragmentary material recovered from other Jurassic-Cretaceous localities.





Ksepka, D.T., and Clarke, J.A. 2010. The basal penguin (Aves: Sphenisciformes) 
Perudyptes devriesi and a phylogenetic evaluation of the penguin fossil record. 
Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 337:1-77. doi: 10.1206/653.1.

ABSTRACT: We present the first detailed description of Perudyptes devriesi, a 
basal penguin from the middle Eocene (~42 Ma) Paracas Formation of Peru, and a 
new analysis of all published extinct penguin species as well as controversial 
fragmentary specimens. The Perudyptes devriesi  holotype includes key regions 
of the skull and significant postcranial material, thus helping to fill a major 
phylogenetic and stratigraphic (~20 million year) gap between the earliest 
fossil penguins (Waimanu manneringi and Waimanu tuatahi, ~58â61.6 Ma) and the 
next oldest partial skeletons. Perudyptes devriesi is diagnosable by five 
autapomorphies: (1) an anteroventrally directed postorbital process, (2) marked 
anterior expansion of the parasphenoid rostrum, (3) posterior trochlear ridge 
of the humerus projecting distal to the middle trochlear ridge and conformed as 
a large, broadly curved surface, (4) convex articular surface for the 
antitrochanter of the femur, and (5) extremely weak anterior projection of the 
lateral condyle of the tibiotarsus. The skull of Perudyptes is characterized by 
deep temporal fossae and an elongate, narrow beak that differs from other 
reported stem penguins in its short mandibular symphysis. The wing skeleton of 
Perudyptes preserves a combination of plesiomorphic features also observed in 
the basal penguin Waimanu and derived features shared with more crownward 
penguins. Features of the wing optimized as primitive for Sphenisciformes 
include retention of a discrete dorsal supracondylar tubercle on the humerus 
and presence of a modestly projected pisiform process on the carpometacarpus. 
Derived features present in Perudyptes and all more crownward penguins, but 
absent in Waimanu, include a more flattened humerus, development of a trochlea 
for the tendon of m. scapulotriceps at the distal end of the humerus, and 
bowing of the anterior face of the carpometacarpus.
     A combined molecular and morphological dataset for Spheniciformes was 
expanded by adding 25 osteological and soft tissue characters as well as 11 
taxa. In agreement with previous results, Perudyptes devriesi is identified as 
one of the most basal members of Sphenisciformes. This analysis also confirms 
the placement of the middle/late Miocene (~11â13 Ma) fossil Spheniscus muizoni 
as a member of the Spheniscus clade and places the late Miocene (~10 Ma) 
Madrynornis mirandus as sister taxon to extant Eudyptes. These two species, 
known from relatively complete partial skeletons, are the oldest crown clade 
penguin fossils and represent well-corroborated temporal calibration points for 
the Spheniscus-Eudyptula divergence and Megadyptes-Eudyptes divergence, 
respectively. Our results reaffirm that the Miocene penguin taxon 
Palaeospheniscus, recently proposed to represent a member of the crown 
radiation, belongs outside of the crown clade Spheniscidae.
     The phylogenetic positions of small Eocene Antarctic penguin taxa 
(Delphinornis, Marambiornis, and Mesetaornis) recently proposed as possible 
direct ancestors to crown Spheniscidae were further evaluated using alternate 
coding strategies for incorporating scorings from isolated elements that 
preserve critical morphologies and are thought to represent these taxa, 
although they cannot yet be reliably assigned to individual species. Under all 
scoring regimes, Delphinornis, Marambiornis, and Mesetaornis were recovered as 
distantly related to Spheniscidae.
     Using synapomorphies identified in the primary analysis, we evaluated the 
phylogenetic position of fragmentary specimens, including the holotypes of 
valid but poorly known species, specimens currently unassignable to the species 
level, and morphologically distinct specimens that have not yet been named. All 
pre-Miocene specimens can be excluded from Spheniscidae based on presence of 
plesiomorphies lost in all crown penguins, consistent with a recent radiation 
for the penguin crown clade. This study provides additional support for a 
scenario of penguin evolution characterized by an origin of flightlessness near 
the K-T boundary, dispersal throughout the Southern Hemisphere during the early 
Paleogene, and a late Cenozoic origin for the crown clade Spheniscidae. 
Stratigraphic distribution and phylogenetic relationships of fossil penguins 
are consistent with distinct radiations during the Eocene, Oligocene, and 
Miocene. While the Eocene and Oligocene penguin faunas are similar in many 
respects, the Miocene fauna is characterized by smaller average size and novel 
cranial morphologies, suggesting that an ecological shift in diet occurred 
close to the origin of crown Spheniscidae.





Kellner, A.W.A., Rich, T.H., Costa, F.R., Vickers-Rich, P., Kear, B.P., 
Walters, M., and Kool, L. 2010. New isolated pterodactyloid bones from the 
Albian Toolebuc Formation (western Queensland, Australia) with comments on the 
Australian pterosaur fauna. Alcheringa. doi: 10.1080/03115511003656552.

ABSTRACT: New isolated pterodactyloid bones from the Toolebuc Formation are 
described. The first one consists of a complete wing metacarpal 212 mm long, 
representing an individual with an estimated wing span of 4 m. Small 
depressions on the anterior surface are present and represent tooth marks 
showing that this specimen was subjected to scavenging prior to fossilization. 
The other bone consists of a three-dimensionally preserved cervical vertebra 
lacking most of the neural arch. The specimens are clearly referable to the 
derived pterosaur clade Pterodactyloidea. Based on several features such as the 
position of the pneumatic foramen and the particular shape and proportions of 
those elements, they possibly are members of, or closely related to, the 
Anhangueridae. The record of the Australian pterosaurs is reviewed here and 
represents the known southern distributional limit for Cretaceous pterosaurs, 
arguing against some older ideas of a more geographically restricted range for 
these flying reptiles.





Kear, B.P., Deacon, G.L., and Siverson, M. 2010. Remains of a Late Cretaceous 
pterosaur from the Molecap Greensand of western Australia. Alcheringa. doi: 
10.1080/03115511003661651.

ABSTRACT: Pterosaur remains are very rare in Australasia and especially in 
Upper Cretaceous strata. Thus, the discovery of a jaw fragment from the 
Cenomanian-Coniacian Molecap Greensand near Gingin in Western Australia 
represents an important new stratigraphical occurrence for the region. Although 
the teeth are not preserved, the presence of labio-lingually compressed alveoli 
that are anterolaterally oriented, variable in shape/size (inferring 
heterodonty) and very widely spaced is reminiscent of ornithocheiridsâa 
geographically cosmopolitan clade of predominantly Early Cretaceous 
pterodactyloids. If correct, this identification could extend the known range 
of Ornithocheiridae through to the Late Cretaceous in the Southern Hemisphere.





Barrett, P.M., Kear, B.P., and Benson, R.B.J. 2010. Opalized archosaur remains 
from the Bulldog Shale (Aptian: Lower Cretaceous) of south Australia. 
Alcheringa. doi: 10.1080/03115511003664440.

ABSTRACT: Terrestrial reptile remains are very rare in the Lower Cretaceous of 
South Australia, but include the holotype of the small theropod Kakuru. Here, 
we review this taxon and other archosaur specimens collected from the Bulldog 
Shale (Aptian) of Andamooka and Coober Pedy. Kakuru possesses no unique 
characters or character state combinations and is regarded as a nomen dubium, 
representing an indeterminate tetanuran theropod. Two other specimens (a left 
metatarsal and astragalus) can be referred to Dinosauria, but the identity of 
several other specimens (phalanges and a centrum) can only be resolved to the 
level of an indeterminate archosaur.






Iori, F.V., and de Souza Carvalho, I. 2009. Morrinhosuchus luziae, um novo 
Crocodylomorpha Notosuchia da Bacia Bauru, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de 
GeociÃncias 39(4):717-725.

ABSTRACT: A new species of a Crocodylomorpha Notosuchia from the Bauru Basin, 
Adamantina Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Turonian-Santonian), Brazil is 
described. The fossil consists of the distal portions of skull and mandible. 
The posterior teeth present globoid crown and circular cross-section. Among the 
notosuchians discovered in the Bauru Basin, only Mariliasuchus presents similar 
teeth, however, the arrangement of these teeth, besides other autapomorphies, 
allow the establishment of a new taxa. This fossil widens the number and 
diversity of Notosuchia, showing the success of this clade throughout Gondwana 
and several ecological niches during the Cretaceous.





Padian, K., and Horner, J.R. 2010. The evolution of 'bizarre structures' in 
dinosaurs: biomechanics, sexual selection, social selection or species 
recognition? Journal of Zoology. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.2010.00719.x.

ABSTRACT: 'Bizarre structures' in dinosaurs have four main traditional 
explanations: mechanical function, sexual selection, social selection and 
species recognition. Any of these can be plausible for individual species, but 
they fail to be persuasive when other lines of evidence cannot adequately test 
them. The first three also fail as general propositions when phylogenetic 
analyses based on other characters do not support scenarios of selective 
improvement of such functions in their clade (or the explanation simply does 
not apply to any other species in the clade). Moreover, the hypothesis of 
sexual selection requires significant sexual dimorphism, which has never been 
conclusively established in dinosaurs.
     We propose instead that species recognition may have been a more general 
force that drove the evolution of bizarre structures in dinosaurs. That is, the 
bizarre structures communicate to other individuals a variety of possible 
associational cues, including species identification, potential protection and 
social habits and the appropriateness of potential mates. In other words, 
bizarre structures amount to an advertisement for positive association. Neither 
species recognition nor any other hypothesis should be a 'default' explanation. 
Although direct observation is impossible, we propose two tests. First, 
contrary to adaptive, social or sexual selection, under the species recognition 
model morphology should be expected to evolve without obvious directional 
trends, because the only objective is to differ from one's relatives. Hence, 
patterns of evolution of bizarre structures should be relatively proliferative 
and non-directional. Second, several contemporaneous species should overlap in 
geographic range (sympatric, parapatric, peripatric). Fossil species often show 
evidence of this pattern in the past by 'ghost ranges' of related taxa. These 
tests together could reinforce or weaken an argument for species recognition.






Falkingham, P.L., Margetts, L., and Manning, P.L. 2010. Fossil vertebrate 
tracks as paleopenetrometers: confounding effects of foot morphology. Palaios 
25(6):356-360. doi: 10.2110/palo.2009.p09-164r.

ABSTRACT: The depth to which a vertebrate track is indented can provide a 
wealth of information, being a direct result of the weight, duty factor, and 
limb kinematics of the animal as well as media (= substrate or sediment) 
consistency. In order to recreate the formation of the track and elucidate 
media consistency at the time of track formation, such factors as animal mass, 
duty factor, and foot morphology must be taken into consideration. This study 
uses Finite Element Analysis and physical modeling to demonstrate for the first 
time that the shape of the foot is an important factor that influences the 
depth to which the sediment is penetrated. In cohesive sediment, less compact 
morphology allows more sediment to move vertically upwards at the edges of the 
foot, dissipating force at the surface, and retarding transmission of load 
vertically down into the sediment. The reverse of this effect is seen in 
noncohesive sediment. Foot morphology, therefore, has a direct impact on 
preservation potential, both of surface tracks and undertracks, that is 
irrespective of the pressure exerted on the sediment surface by the foot and 
independent of mass and duty factor.





Budziszewska-Karwowska, E., Bujok, A., and Sadlok, G. 2010. Bite marks on an 
Upper Triassic dicynodontid tibia from Zawiercie, KrakÃw-CzÄstochowa upland, 
southern Poland. Palaios 25(6):415-421. doi: 10.2110/palo.2009.p09-136r.

ABSTRACT: We report the first record of bite marks on an Upper Triassic 
dicynodontid bone from Poland. The bone comes from the Upper Triassic (Norian) 
WoÅniki Limestone of Zawiercie, KrakÃw-CzÄstochowa Upland, southern Poland. The 
bone has several longitudinal bite marks on the anterior side of its shaft, as 
well as a row of small oval pits. The specimen bears, on its posterior side, 
evidence of additional damageâparts of bone are missing in the proximal- and 
distal-end areas. The analysis of the longitudinal bite marks and pits 
indicates that more than one carnivore fed on the dicynodontid carcass. The 
different types of marks suggest that the specimen was scavenged.





Coria, R.A., Salgado, L., and Chiappe, L.M. 2010. Multiple dinosaur egg-shell 
occurrence in an Upper Cretaceous nesting site from Patagonia. Ameghiniana 
47(1):107-110.





Louchart, A., Tourment, N., and Carrier, J. 2010. The earliest known pelican 
reveals 30 million years of evolutionary stasis in beak morphology. Journal of 
Ornithology. doi: 10.1007/s10336-010-0537-5.

ABSTRACT: The feeding apparatus of Paleogene birds is rarely well-preserved. 
Here, we describe the earliest known pelican (early Oligocene, Luberon, 
southeastern France), with its almost complete beak. Morphologically identical 
to modern pelicans, the new fossil already shows several advanced features 
unique to extant species of the genus Pelecanus. It probably belongs to the 
lineage ancestral to all or some of these pelican species. This fossil reveals 
a remarkable evolutionary stasis in the morphology of such an advanced avian 
feeding apparatus through ca. 30 million years. Several hypotheses are proposed 
to suggest explanations for such examples of long stases in volant homeothermic 
vertebrates.





Moratalla, J.J., and HernÃn, J. 2010. Probable palaeogeographic influences of 
the Lower Cretaceous Iberian rifting phase in the Eastern Cameros Basin (Spain) 
on dinosaur trackway orientations. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, 
Palaeoecology. doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.05.027.

ABSTRACT: The Cameros Basin sedimentary infill comprises a large, essentially 
continental, megasequence ranging from the Tithonian (Upper Jurassic) to the 
Albian (Lower Cretaceous). It occupies an area of some 5500 km2, and is home to 
around 300 dinosaur tracksites. Most of these tracksites are found in either 
the HuÃrteles Formation, which is part of the Oncala Group (Berriasian), or the 
Enciso Group (Lower Aptian), both of which represent early Cretaceous 
lacustrine episodes. Dinosaur trackways (n=1170) from both episodes were 
analysed in order to establish the preferred direction of dinosaur movement, 
and to determine whether these movements were influenced by the paleogeographic 
and palaeoenvironmental conditions of the area.
     The HuÃrteles Formation is interpreted as a complex record of alluvial 
plain systems distally connected with a playa-lake. Its dinosaur tracksites are 
distributed throughout its alluvial plain facies and trackways show two 
preferential unidirectional orientations: 1) NW, more or less parallel to the 
distribution of the facies belt and 2) NNE. The Enciso Group is represented by 
a wide and shallow lacustrine system connected with marine environments towards 
the SE (Iberian Basin realm) and in close proximity to marine settings to the 
NW (Basque-Cantabrian Basin realm), rendering the Cameros Basin as the only 
continental connection between the Ebro and Iberian Massifs. The fluctuating 
(but always shallow) water level of the system with frequent desiccations 
probably allowed dinosaurs to pass through the lake basin. As a consequence of 
these paleogeographic restrictions, the dinosaur trackways generally show a 
bidirectional NEâSW orientation. Despite the temporal and geographical 
differences between the HuÃrteles Formation and Enciso Group, the ichnocenoses 
of both are dominated by theropod dinosaur trackways (85% as a mean value). 
This is probably explained by these dinosaurs being more active than others, a 
consequence of their searching/hunting behaviour.





Kim, K.S., Kim, J.Y., Lockley, M.G., and Seo, J. 2010. Dinosaur skin 
impressions from the Cretaceous of Korea: new insights into modes of 
preservation Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. doi: 
10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.05.012.

ABSTRACT: Three specimens of sauropod dinosaur skin impressions from footprints 
in the Lower Cretaceous Jindong and Haman formations are unusual because they 
are not associated with well-preserved âhostâ tracks. This suggests a hitherto 
unreported mode of preservation in which diagnostic but isolated skin traces 
may appear associated with substrates where only the superficial layers were 
originally soft. Two specimens from the Haman Formation of Gainri and Sinsu 
Island reveal large pentagonal to heptagonal scale impressions (size 2.0 â 2.5 
cm). Another specimen from the Jindong Formation of the Deokmyeongri area is an 
extremely well-preserved, honeycomb-like pattern of hexagonal scale 
impressions, but an adjacent part reveals pentagonal to heptagonal polygons of 
variable size. Collectively these skin impressions more than double the sparse 
record of sauropod skin impressions and show that patterns (morphology) are 
consistent from the Jurassic to the Cretaceous. Although comprehensive 
syntheses have yet to be attempted, skin traces are amendable to systematic 
description using tubercle size, shape, thickness, and inter-tubercle groove 
thickness. Such features are useful for distinguishing the different 
morphologies of dinosaurs and other vertebrates that lived in Korea and other 
regions during the Mesozoic.
     Dinosaur skin impressions have occasionally been confused with 
glypogryptids, typical deep sea feeding traces, small desiccation cracks, and 
small load casts which they superficially resemble. To avoid such confusion we 
enumerate criteria useful for distinguishing dinosaur skin impressions from 
similar shaped invertebrate trace fossils and inorganic sedimentary structures. 
These criteria vary in importance but include preservation, morphology, 
dimension of morphology, depositional environment, deformation of underlying 
sediments, uniformity of size and shape of individual scale impressions within 
single specimens, ornamentation, and geological age.





Cobos, A., Royo-Torres, R., Luque, L., AlcalÃ, L., and Mampel, L. 2010. An 
Iberian stegosaurs paradise: The Villar del Arzobispo Formation 
(TithonianâBerriasian) in Teruel (Spain). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, 
Palaeoecology. doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.05.024.

ABSTRACT: Since 2002 a number of sites containing stegosaurian remains (bones 
and tracks) have been discovered in the Villar del Arzobispo Formation 
(TithonianâBerriasian) in the Province of Teruel, Spain, mostly in the areas of 
El Castellar and Riodeva. The material from the latter consists of the 
postcranial remains of the axial, pelvic and appendicular skeleton of several 
different sized specimens related to the genus Dacentrurus. The footprints made 
by a stegosaurian at El Castellar site reflect a new type of medium gauge 
trackway: Deltapodus ibericus isp. nov. The presence of these tracks near 
abundant bones related to Dacentrurus highlights this geological formation as a 
window through which to examine the systematics, behaviour and palaeoecology of 
these thyreophoran dinosaurs. Since these fossil bones were discovered next to 
those of other sauropods and ornithopods (Turiasaurus and Ornithopoda indet.) 
where there has been virtually no transport of the remains, and since 
stegosaurian tracks have been found in ichnoassociations with the same groups, 
they may have coexisted in the wetlands of restricted tidal environments during 
the TithonianâBerriasian. The presence of common (or at least phylogenetically 
closely related) taxa and ichnotaxa in Western Europe, North America and Africa 
indicates that seaâlevel fall episodes may have occurred during which the fauna 
of each area may have reached the emerged regions of the others during the Late 
Jurassic.





Amiot, R., Kusuhashi, N., Xu, X., and Wang, Y. 2010. Isolated dinosaur teeth 
from the Lower Cretaceous Shahai and Fuxin formations of northeastern China. 
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences. doi: 10.1016/j.jseaes.2010.04.017.

ABSTRACT: Isolated dinosaur teeth recovered from seven localities near Fuxin 
(western Liaoning Province, northeastern China) are described. They come from 
sediments belonging to the Shahai and Fuxin formations, considered to be Aptian 
to Albian in age. Seven taxa have been recognized. They include the 
oviraptorosaur Incisivosaurus, dromaeosaurid theropods, Euhelopus-like 
sauropods, as well as indeterminate nodosaurid, ankylosaurid, iguanodontoid and 
basal neoceratopsian ornithischians. The Shahai and Fuxin dinosaur faunas show 
the persistence of some Jehol biota taxa such as the highly specialised 
Incisivosaurus, basal titanosauriform sauropods, basal neoceratopsians and some 
dromaeosaurids, and the addition of more derived iguanodontoids and 
ankylosaurians. The persistence of some dinosaurs of the Jehol Biota into the 
Shahai and Fuxin formations suggests a long term stability of Liaoning 
terrestrial environments during the Early Cretaceous. Despite sampling bias and 
the rather small sample that must be taken into account, teeth abundances show 
a significant compositional difference between the localities of the Shahai and 
Fuxin formations, neoceratopsian teeth representing one third of dinosaur tooth 
remains in the Shahai Formation whereas they are totally absent in the Fuxin 
Formation. Ankylosaur teeth, in contrast, represent 3 percent of total remains 
in the Shahai Formation, whereas they seem to be the only herbivorous dinosaurs 
in the Fuxin Formation with 40 percent of the total number of teeth (the rest 
being theropod dinosaur teeth). Although a difference in micro-environmental 
conditions between Shahai and Fuxin localities may at least partly explain such 
pattern, the unusual and unbalanced faunal composition of Fuxin localities 
remains enigmatic and will need further field collecting in order to be 
clarified.





You, H.-L., Atterholt, J., O'Connor, J.K., Harris, J.D., Lamanna, M.C., and Li, 
D.-Q. 2010. A second Cretaceous ornithuromorph bird from the Changma Basin, 
Gansu Province, northwestern China. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. doi: 
10.4202/app.2009.0095.

ABSTRACT: Finely-bedded lacustrine deposits of the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) 
Xiagou Formation exposed in the Changma Basin of Gansu Province, northwestern 
China, have yielded numerous fossil vertebrate remains, including approximately 
100 avian specimens. Though the majority of these birds appear referable to the 
ornithuromorph Gansus yumenensis, a number of enantiornithine fossils have also 
been recovered. Here we report on a specimen consisting of a complete, 
three-dimensionally preserved sternum, furcula, and sternal ribs that 
represents a second ornithuromorph taxon from the Xiagou Formation at Changma. 
The fossil exhibits morphologies that distinguish it from all previously-known 
Xiagou birds and demonstrate that it represents a derived non-ornithurine 
member of Ornithuromorpha. Though it is morphologically distinct from the 
equivalent elements of all other described ornithuromorphs, the material is too 
incomplete to justify the erection of a new taxon. Nonetheless, it increases 
the taxonomic diversity of the Xiagou avifauna, thereby expanding our knowledge 
of Early Cretaceous avian diversity and evolution.





Azuma, Y. and Shibata, M. 2010. Fukuititan nipponensis, a new titanosauriform 
suropod from the Early Cretaceous Tetori Group of Fukui Prefecture, Japan. Acta 
Geologica Sinica (English Edition) 84(3): 454-462. doi: 
10.1111/j.1755-6724.2010.00268.x

ABSTRACT: A titanosauriform dinosaur: Fukuititan nipponensis  gen. et sp. nov. 
is erected based on the incomplete skeleton. It is characterized by elongated 
asymmetric tooth crown with a weak or absent labial groove and without lingual 
concavity; stalk-like epipophysis of cervical vertebra; the transverse width of 
the proximal end of the humerus approximately 32% of the humerus length; 
metacarpal longer, approximately 48% of the radius and the distal end of the 
ischia slightly expanded. It represents the first relatively complete 
titanosauriform skeleton found from Japan. The discovery of Fukuititan 
indicates that the diversity and geographical distribution of Titanosauriformes 
are much higher than the previous thought.






Zhou, C.-F., Gao, K.-Q., and Fox, R.C. 2010. Morphology and histology of 
lattice-like ossified epaxial tendons in Psittacosaurus (Dinosauria: 
Ceratopsia). Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition) 84(3): 463-471. doi: 
10.1111/j.1755-6724.2010.00202.x

ABSTRACT: Epaxial tendons play an important role in the study of the 
musculoskeletal system and locomotory style of dinosaurs. Although the ossified 
epaxial tendon lattice is fairly well known in Iguanodontoidea, only recently 
has knowledge of this complex been extended to ceratopsians. This study 
concerns the gross morphology and microstructure of the tendon lattice in 
Psittacosaurus, a basal ceratopsian. As in the neoceratopsian Chasmosaurus, the 
ossified tendons of Psittacosaurus form a three-layered, lattice-like 
structure. The microstructure of the tendons in large psittacosaur individuals 
retains an early stage of ossification, as in juvenile birds and nestling 
hadrosaurs, suggesting a slow developmental rate of ossification of the tendons 
in psittacosaur ontogeny. Comparative study indicates that a lattice-like 
arrangement of three-layered epaxial tendons is widely distributed in Cerapoda. 
This pattern also extends to Ankylosauria, implying a similar pattern of the 
epaxial muscles through the ornithischian clade. In addition, comparison with 
crocodiles implies that the different morphology of ossified tendons in 
dinosaurs may be associated with adaptive aspects of their paleobiology, not 
simply a side effect of skeletal ossification. In contrast to the short tendons 
in quadrupedal Chasmosaurus  and Protoceratops, the elongated tendons in 
Psittacosaurus may be related to the bipedal locomotion characteristic of this 
taxon.





Hu, D., Li, L., Hou, L., and Xu, X. 2010. A new sapeornithid bird from China 
and its implication for early avian evolution. Acta Geologica Sinica (English 
Edition) 84(3): 472-482. doi:10.1111/j.1755-6724.2010.00188.x

ABSTRACT: Recent discoveries of basal birds have greatly improved our 
understanding of early bird evolution, yet the evolution of several important 
features such as cranial kinesis and arboreality remain debated. A new 
sapeornithid bird, Shenshiornis primita  gen. et sp. nov., based on an 
articulated skeleton from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Group of western Liaoning, 
China, sheds new light on these issues. Shenshiornis possesses a skull as 
primitive as or even more primitive than that of Archaeopteryx  and hind limbs 
modified for an improved arboreal capability. A cladistic analysis shows that: 
1) presence of a diapsid skull is a plesiomorphy of the Aves and a kinetic 
skull evolved incrementally later in avian evolution; and 2) cursorial 
capability significantly weakens at the base of the Pygostylia due to a change 
in locomotor system.






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jerry D. Harris
Director of Paleontology
Dixie State College
Science Building
225 South 700 East
St. George, UT  84770   USA
Phone: (435) 652-7758
Fax: (435) 656-4022
E-mail: jharris@dixie.edu
 and     dinogami@gmail.com
http://cactus.dixie.edu/jharris/


"I have noticed even people who
claim everything is predestined, and
that we can do nothing to change it,
look before they cross the road."

                   -- Stephen Hawking

"Prediction is very difficult,
especially of the future."

                   -- Niels Bohr