Recent squamate papers with free pdfs
Free pdf:
Oculudentavis naga sp. nov.
Arnau Bolet, Edward L. Stanley, Juan D. Daza, Joseph J. Bevitt, Adolf Peretti & Susan E. Evans (2021)
Unusual morphology in the mid-Cretaceous lizard Oculudentavis.
Current Biology (advance online publication)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.040
https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00738-7
Free pdf:
https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0960-9822%2821%2900738-7
Highlights
Arnau Bolet, Edward L. Stanley, Juan D. Daza, Joseph J. Bevitt, Adolf Peretti & Susan E. Evans (2021)
Unusual morphology in the mid-Cretaceous lizard Oculudentavis.
Current Biology (advance online publication)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.040
https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00738-7
Free pdf:
https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0960-9822%2821%2900738-7
Highlights
A new species of the reptile in amber, Oculudentavis, is described
Oculudentavis is a bizarre lizard, not a bird
The bird-like appearance of Oculudentavis is due to convergence in skull proportions
Summary
Oculudentavis khaungraae was described based on a tiny skull trapped in amber. The slender tapering rostrum with retracted narial openings, large eyes, and short vaulted braincase led to its identification as the smallest avian dinosaur on record, comparable to the smallest living hummingbirds. Despite its bird-like appearance, Oculudentavis showed several features inconsistent with its original phylogenetic placement. Here, we describe a more complete specimen that demonstrates Oculudentavis is actually a bizarre lizard of uncertain position. The new specimen is described as a new species within the genus Oculudentavis. The new interpretation and phylogenetic placement highlight a rare case of convergent evolution in skull proportions but apparently not in morphological characters. Our results re-affirm the importance of Myanmar amber in yielding unusual taxa from a forest ecosystem rarely represented in the fossil record.
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Tom J. Giltaij, Jesper MilÃn, John W.M. Jagt & Anne S. Schulp (2021)
Prognathodon (Squamata, Mosasauridae) from the Maastrichtian chalk of Denmark.
Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark 69: 53â58. ISSN 2245-7070.
doi: https://doi.org/10.37570/bgsd-2021-69-03
https://2dgf.dk/publikationer/bulletin/bulletin-69-2021/
Two mosasaur tooth crowns collected from the Maastrichtian chalk sequences of Stevns Klint and MÃns Klint are here assigned to Prognathodon, a mosasaur genus hitherto unknown from Denmark. Together with previous records of the mosasaurs Plioplatecarpus, Mosasaurus and Carinodens, these new finds of Prognathodon document the coexistence of four mosasaurid genera in the Danish chalk and underscore simi-larities to coeval assemblages from the Maastrichtian type area in the Netherlands and Belgium.
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Free pdf:
Tom J. Giltaij, Jeroen H.J.L. van der Lubbe, Bent E.K. Lindow, Anne S. Schulp & John W.M. Jagt (2021)
Carbon isotope trends in north-west European mosasaurs (Squamata; Late Cretaceous).
Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark 69: 59-70. ISSN 2245-7070.
https://doi.org/10.37570/bgsd-2021-69-04
https://2dgf.dk/publikationer/bulletin/bulletin-69-2021/
The carbon stable isotope composition (Î13C) of tooth enamel in mosasaurid squa-mates reflects aspects of their diet and diving behaviour. Here we present new Î13C data for such marine squamates from the Maastrichtian of Denmark and compare these with results obtained in previous studies from the lower-latitude type area of the Maastrichtian Stage (latest Cretaceous; 72.1â66.0 Ma) in the south-east Nether-lands and north-east Belgium. For the Danish samples, there is a weak correlation between mosasaur body size and Î13C values, with larger-sized taxa having lower Î13C values, comparable to what has previously been observed for mosasaurs from the Maastrichtian type area.
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