Some recent non-dino papers:
Lapparentophis ragei sp. nov.
Romain Vullo (2019)
A new species of Lapparentophis from the mid-Cretaceous Kem Kem beds, Morocco, with remarks on the distribution of lapparentophiid snakes.
Comptes Rendus Palevol (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2019.08.004
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S163106831930154X
Two isolated trunk vertebrae from the ?uppermost Albianâlower Cenomanian Kem Kem beds of Morocco are described and assigned to Lapparentophis, an early snake genus known from coeval deposits in Algeria. The Moroccan specimens represent a new species, Lapparentophis ragei, which can be distinguished from the type and only known species, Lapparentophis defrennei, by its smaller size, its more elongate vertebrae, the presence of parazygosphenal foramina, and paradiapophyses extending anteroventrally closer to the cotyle. The discovery of Lapparentophis in the Kem Kem beds adds to the relatively diverse snake assemblage previously reported from this formation and extends the geographical range of the genus. The distribution of Lapparentophis and lapparentophiid-grade (?lapparentophiid) snakes is discussed. This poorly known family of terrestrial snakes seems to be restricted to the latest Albianâearly Cenomanian of North Africa, with the exception of Pouitella from the earlyâmiddle Cenomanian of France. As for many other vertebrate taxa of this period, this distribution is consistent with a dispersal event from Africa to the western part of the European archipelago.
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Andrej ÄerÅanskÃ, ÂElena V. Syromyatnikova, ÂEkaterina S. Kovalenko, Konstantin M. Podurets Â& Alexander A. Kaloyan (2019)
The key to understanding the European Miocene Chalcides (Squamata, Scincidae) comes from Asia: the lizards of the East Siberian Tagay locality (Baikal Lake) in Russia.
The Anatomical Record (advance online publication)
doi: Âhttps://doi.org/10.1002/ar.24289
https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24289
The key to understanding the European Miocene Chalcides (Squamata, Scincidae) comes from Asia: the lizards of the East Siberian Tagay locality (Baikal Lake) in Russia.
The Anatomical Record (advance online publication)
doi: Âhttps://doi.org/10.1002/ar.24289
https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24289
The early middle Miocene (MN 5) lizards from the East Siberian Tagay locality (Baikal Lake, Russia) in Asia are described here. The lizard fauna consists of two clades, Lacertidae and Scincidae. The skink material is allocated to Chalcides.While this taxon was previously reported from Europe, it has rarely been observed in the Neogene record with only jaw fragments and frontal bones described. Its taxonomy was therefore enigmatic. The Tagay material is almost identical to the European fossils of Chalcides from Austria and Hungary, but it also contains the parietal bone. While the material is also similar to the extant Ch. ocellatus, it exhibits several morphological differences. A new species is therefore erected â Chalcides augei sp. nov. These findings further support the connection of the Baikal Lake area with central Europe during the first half of the Miocene. The comparative anatomy of the frontals, parietals and lower jaws was evaluated by microâCT in selected skink taxa. This comparison highlights several important differences, e.g., paired frontals are present in Broadleysaurus (an outgroup taxon), in Acontias and all studied members of Scincidae herein. The character optimization in Mesquite supports fused frontals as being the condition at the basal node of the Ateuchosauridae + Sphenomorphidae + Eugongylidae+ Lygosomidae + Egerniidae + Mabuyidae clade. While the parapineal foramen is restricted to the parietal in most taxa studied herein, it is absent (or vestigial) in Acontias and Feylinia. In contrast to all other skinks, this foramen is located on the frontal in Ateuchosaurus chinensis.
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Lida Xing, Donghao Wang, Gang Li, Ryan C. McKellar, Ming Bai, Huarong Chen & Susan E. Evans (2019)
Possible egg masses from amphibians, gastropods, and insects in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber.
Historical Biology (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2019.1677642
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2019.1677642
Possible egg masses from amphibians, gastropods, and insects in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber.
Historical Biology (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2019.1677642
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2019.1677642
The eggs of fish, amphibians, and many invertebrates are soft, delicate structures that are only rarely preserved in the fossil record. Here we report egg masses preserved as inclusions in mid-Cretaceous amber deposits of Myanmar. Of five specimens recovered, three of the egg masses probably pertain to insects, but the other two appear different. One mass is composed of relatively stiff eggs that retain their shape throughout the mass and may be linked by mucoid strands. This morphology resembles that of some terrestrial molluscs. The second mass is composed of softer eggs that have compressed one another so that their shapes are strongly distorted within the mass. These eggs most closely resemble those of amphibians. Given the forest environment reconstructed for the amber locality, the eggs were presumably attached on or close to the resin producing tree.