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Monday, July 15th, 2024
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| 1:03a | [Crustacea • 2024] Alvinocaris webberi • Check for UpdatesGenetic connectivity and Isotopic Niches of alvinocaridid Shrimps from Chemosynthetic Habitats in Aotearoa/New Zealand, with A New Alvinocaris Species
ABSTRACT Chemosynthetic ecosystems off Aotearoa/New Zealand comprise both hydrothermal vents on the Kermadec Arc and methane seeps on the Hikurangi Margin which host rich communities of specialized fauna including 4 alvinocaridid shrimp species. The systematic positions of these New Zealand alvinocaridid shrimps have not been studied using genetic tools and little is known about their habitat use and feeding habits. Here, we re-evaluate the taxonomy of alvinocaridid shrimps from New Zealand using genetic barcoding and characterize their connectivity and isotopic niches across 8 localities. We describe a new species, Alvinocaris webberi sp. nov., previously confused with A. longirostris. We also show that A. alexander and A. chelys are junior synonyms of A. dissimilis, revealing a high genetic connectivity across hydrothermal vents and methane seeps from Japan to New Zealand, greatly extending its range. Finally, we find clear niche separation in co-occurring alvinocaridid shrimps, suggesting different diets and/or habitat use. Nevertheless, all species rely on chemosynthetic resources, regardless of the habitat depth, which ranges from 380 to 1650 m. KEY WORDS: Alvinocarididae · Chemosynthesis · Connectivity · Stable isotope · Hydrothermal vent · Hydrocarbon seep · Methane seep  Alvinocaris webberi sp. nov. Pierre Methou, Nanako O. Ogawa, Hidetaka Nomaki, Naohiko Ohkouchi, Chong Chen and Kareen Schnabel. 0224. Check for UpdatesGenetic connectivity and Isotopic Niches of alvinocaridid Shrimps from Chemosynthetic Habitats in Aotearoa/New Zealand, with A New Alvinocaris Species. MEPS. 739:85-109. DOI: 10.3354/meps14611 | ||||||
| 1:09a | [Paleontology • 2024] Fona herzogae • A New semi-fossorial thescelosaurine Dinosaur (Neornithischia: Thescelosauridae) from the Cenomanian-age Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah
Abstract Thescelosaurines are a group of early diverging, ornithischian dinosaurs notable for their conservative bauplans and mosaic of primitive features. Although abundant within the latest Cretaceous ecosystems of North America, their record is poor to absent in earlier assemblages, leaving a large gap in our understanding of their evolution, origins, and ecological roles. Here we report a new small bodied thescelosaurine—Fona herzogae gen. et sp. nov.—from the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah, USA. Fona herzogae is represented by multiple individuals, representing one of the most comprehensive skeletal assemblages of a small bodied, early diverging ornithischian described from North America to date. Phylogenetic analysis recovers Fona as the earliest member of Thescelosaurinae, minimally containing Oryctodromeus, and all three species of Thescelosaurus, revealing the clade was well-established in North America by as early as the Cenomanian, and distinct from, yet continental cohabitants with, their sister clade, Orodrominae. To date, orodromines and thescelosaurines have not been found together within a single North American ecosystem, suggesting different habitat preferences or competitive exclusion. Osteological observations reveal extensive intraspecific variation across cranial and postcranial elements, and a number of anatomical similarities with Oryctodromeus, suggesting a shared semi-fossorial lifestyle. SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY DINOSAURIA Owen (1842). ORNITHISCHIA Seeley (1887). NEORNITHISCHIA Cooper, 1985 (sensu Butler et al., 2008). ORNITHOPODA Marsh, 1881 (sensu Butler et al., 2008). THESCELOSAURIDAE (Sternberg, 1937). THESCELOSAURINAE (Sternberg, 1940). THESCELOSAURINAE indet. Fona herzogae sp. nov.  Holotype: NCSM 33548, a single partially articulated, nearly complete skeleton. Occurrence: NCSM 33548 was recovered from the Karmic Orodromine locality (UT-16-07-22-Z1), lower Mussentuchit Member, upper Cedar Mountain Formation, Emery County, Utah, USA (Figure 1). Stratigraphic occurrence is between MAZ1 and Last Chance Sandstone (99.466 + 0.046/−0.053 Ma; Tucker et al., 2023) making it the only locality definitively preserving F. herzogae from the lower Mussentuchit unit to date. Mini Troll (NCPALEOUT16) is the geologically youngest locality, emplaced below MAZ3, with an age of 99.231 + 0.090/−0.052 Ma. FMNH PR 4581 was preserved at the Manolo site (UT130831), (99.411 + 0.056/−0.061 Ma) above MAZ2 in the upper Mussentuchit (Figure 1). Age data is based on a Bayesian age stratigraphic model (Trayler et al., 2020) of the member originally detailed in Tucker et al. (2023). Materials referable to Fona span the lower to upper Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, a range of, at minimum, 235,000 kyr. UT-16-07-22-Z1 and NCPALEOUT16 are located on land administered by the US Bureau of Land Management, respectively; exact locality information is restricted by federal statute and is available to qualified researchers via the NCSM. DIAGNOSIS: Fona herzogae is a small-bodied, early diverging ornithischian with the following unique combination of characters (autapomorphies are denoted with an asterisk) (Figure 5) *(1) a rostral maxillary fossa located caudal to the first tooth position (unknown in Oryctodromeus and possibly shared by Isaberrysaura and Haya); *(2) an otoccipital that bears a dorsoventrally elongate fossa on the medial surface of the occipital condyle located directly caudal to the medial opening of CN XII; *(3) a rostrocaudally oriented ventral canal on the prootic; *(4) The dorsal margin of the axis neural spine is parallel with the dorsal suture of the centrum, forming an angle of essentially ~0°. *(5) Ischial shaft has bulbous thickening along the dorsal margin directly distal to the obturator process (prominent on both ischia of at least two individuals and weakly present on only the right of another.) (6) base of the prepubic process bears a prominent lateral swelling (possibly present but significantly reduced in Oryctodromeus and Th. neglectus). (7) the caudoventral prong of the jugal's caudal process underlaps a groove along the ventral margin of the quadratojugal (shared by Th. neglectus, likely Changmiania, and possibly at least one specimen of Jeholosaurus [STMN 23–17]). (8) dentary teeth with vertical wear facets on the labial surface that terminate abruptly near the crown base to form a mesiodistally inclined shelf (shared by Oryctodromeus). (9) A low, round tuberosity on the medial side of the scapula located directly opposite to the glenoid ridge (shared with Oryctodromeus and possibly Iani smithi). Standard skeletal measurements of NCSM 33548 are provided in Table 1. Characters 7–9 serve as important synapomorphies that help place Fona within Thescelosaurinae. Fona n. gen. Etymology: Fona (/Foat'NAH/) from the Austronesian language Finoʼ CHamoru. The ancestral maga'håga of the CHamoru people is Fo'na whose name can be translated as ‘the origin’. With her brother Pontan, whose name can be translated as ‘a ripe coconut’, they became the first paramount female and male chiefs (the ancestral maga'låhi of the CHamoru people), ancestrally venerated according to CHamoru tradition (Borja-Quichocho-Calvo, 2021; Cruz, 2022). According to oral history and legend, when Pontan's spirit began to perish and die, Fo'na discovers her powers and uses them to craft parts of Pontan's body into the pieces of the universe. His eyes were turned into the sun and moon, his eyebrows became the rainbows, his back the earth, his chest the sky, his blood the ocean, and from his stomach and penis the mountains and the sacred Creation Point stone pillar were born (Duhaylonsod & Cepeda, 2022). Fo'na had such sorrow from the loss of her brother that her tears flowed down his body to form the currents of the sea, and in reverence to her brother's dream, she decided to bring life to the universe, throwing herself into the earth where her body turned to stone. From her fossilized body sprang forth the first people at Fuha Rock, imbued with her good spirit (Cepeda, 2021; Cunningham, 1992; Perez, 2019; Perez, 2021). This ancestral story of the CHamoru people mirrors the life and death of the thescelosaurine dinosaurs at the Mini Troll locality, as there were at least two subadult individuals that may have been male and female, or perhaps siblings. Additionally, their bodies fell into the earth where they too fossilized. This naming, rooted in the story of Pontan's sacrifice and Fo'na's love for her brother, highlights the CHamoru values of inafa'måolek (to make good for all), geftåo (the need for compassion, selflessness, and familial bonds) (Duhaylonsod & Cepeda, 2022), the importance of the equality shared between women and men (Naholowa'a, 2018), and ongoing efforts to decolonize paleontology (Monarrez et al., 2021). Fona herzogae sp. nov. Etymology: The specific epithet honors Lisa Herzog (discoverer of the Mini Troll locality) for her unparalleled dedication to the paleontology program at the NCSM and the collection, care, and conservation of fossil specimens worldwide.  CONCLUSION: Fona herzogae adds to the cryptic diversity of the Mussentuchit Member dinosaur fauna, serving as an important component of this exceptional mid-Cretaceous ecosystem. It would have lived alongside the hadrosauromorph Eolambia caroljonesa (McDonald et al., 2017), the Rhabdadontomorph Iani smithi (Zanno, Gates, et al., 2023), the small-bodied tyrannosaur Moros intrepidus (Zanno, Tucker, et al., 2019), the large-bodied allosaurian Siats meekerorum (Zanno & Makovicky, 2013), an unnamed oviraptorosaur (Zanno, Avrahami, et al., 2019) and neoceratopsian (Zanno, Tucker, et al., 2023), and a collection of other terrestrial vertebrates (Avrahami et al., 2018). The presence of a distinct thescelosaurine taxon in the Mussentuchit member supports the hypothesis that the ancestors of Thescelosaurus were present in North America as early as the Cenomanian, co-inhabiting the continent with their sister-taxon Orodrominae. To date, members of these clades have not been found together, suggesting different habitat preferences. Shared ecomorphology with, and a close phylogenetic affinity with Oryctodromeus demonstrated here, supports a shared semi-fossorial lifestyle. Some of the extensive intraspecific variation among specimens of Fona is likely attributable to ontogenetic transformations, whereas others may suggest a broad phenotypic range for the taxon or may point to sexual dimorphism. Haviv M. Avrahami, Peter J. Makovicky, Ryan T. Tucker, Lindsay E. Zanno. 2024. A New semi-fossorial thescelosaurine Dinosaur from the Cenomanian-age Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah. The Anatomical Record | ||||||
| 1:39a | [Crustacea • 2024] Thalassina cangioensis • A New mud lobster of the Genus Thalassina Latreille, 1806 (Decapoda: Gebiidea: Thalassinidae) from the mangrove forest of the Cần Giờ Mangrove Reserve, South Vietnam
Abstract A new species of mud lobster of the genus Thalassina Latreille, 1806 (Decapoda: Gebiidea: Thalassinidae), Thalassina cangioensis sp. nov., is described from mangrove forests of the Cần Giờ Mangrove Biosphere Reserve, located in the Soài Rạp River delta in the downstream of the Dongnai-Saigon River system, South Vietnam. The new species is morphologically mostly similar to T. anomala (Herbst, 1804) in the shape of the rostrum and anterior part of the carapace and the presence of a single median tubercle on pleonal sternites II–V. However, it differs in the strong spinulation on the posterior part of the carapace, the armature of the pereopods I (chelipeds), and the presence of spines on the proximal part of the pleopod I in males. The shape of the pleopod I in males of the new species is mostly similar to that of T. squamifera, but it can be distinguished by the downwardly bulging median part at the tip, which is unique to the genus. Molecular genetic analysis revealed that the new species strongly genetically diverged (by the mitochondrial COI gene marker) from all currently sequenced species of the genus Thalassina, such as T. anomala, T. gracilis, T. kelanang and T. squamifera. Crustacea, Diversity, barcoding, distribution, Indo-West Pacific, mangroves, new species, Thalassina,
Ivan N. Marin, Vasily M. Kolevatov and Tuấn Anh Nguyễn. 2024. A New mud lobster of the Genus Thalassina Latreille, 1806 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Gebiidea: Thalassinidae) from the mangrove forest of the Cần Giờ Mangrove Reserve, South Vietnam. Zootaxa. 5474(5); 533-549. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5474.5.5 | ||||||
| 6:09p | [Paleontology • 2024] Harenadraco prima • The first troodontid (Theropoda: Troodontidae) from the Upper Cretaceous Baruungoyot Formation of Mongolia
ABSTRACT Among non-avian dinosaurs, troodontids are relatively rare but diverse. The Nemegt Basin in the Mongolian Gobi Desert, which incorporates three of the most fossiliferous beds in the world, is one such region with high troodontid diversity and has also produced eight troodontid taxa until now. The diversity of troodontids is biased towards the two formations, Nemegt and Djadochta. Despite its rich vertebrate fossil record, no troodontids have been described from the Baruungoyot Formation. This faunal absence is perplexing as the Baruungoyot Formation has often been considered intermediate between the other two units in stratigraphy and paleoenvironment, but there are no definite troodontid materials that could fill this ‘gap.’ Here, we report a new troodontid, Harenadraco prima gen. et sp. nov., from the Baruungoyot Formation in Hermiin Tsav, Mongolia. It is represented by an incomplete skeleton that mainly consists of partially articulated left hind limb elements. Harenadraco is small and lightly built like other troodontids, but its tarsometatarsus exhibits extreme slenderness comparable only to Philovenator among cursorial non-avian maniraptorans. It also implies high cursoriality that could be an adaptation of Harenadraco to its environment where potential prey animals like mammals and predators such as eudromaeosaurs were likely to be agile. The discovery of Harenadraco confirms the presence of troodontids in all three formations in the Nemegt Basin.
DINOSAURIA Owen, 1842 THEROPODA Marsh, 1881 TROODONTIDAE Gilmore, 1924 HARENADRACO PRIMA, gen. et sp. nov. Diagnosis—A small-sized troodontid diagnosed by the following unique combination of characters (autapomorphies indicated with an asterisk): tall S-shaped medial margin of medial condyle of astragalocalcaneum in anterior view*, poorly developed flexor sulcus on the distal articular end of metatarsal II, which also lacks collateral ligament fossae*, metatarsal III excluded from the proximal end of the metatarsus in dorsal view (shared with Tochisaurus, Zanabazar, and Philovenator), metatarsal IV only slightly more robust than metatarsal II at the proximal end in ventral view (shared with Daliansaurus and Philovenator), pronounced ventral protrusion near the proximal end of metatarsal IV (shared with Liaoningvenator), extremely narrow proximal shaft of metatarsal IV*, greatly elongated flexor tubercle of pedal phalanx II-3 that reaches the shaft of the preceding phalanx when in articulation*, and the distal articular surface of pedal phalanx III-3 not ginglymoid*. Etymology—The name of the genus is a composition of the Latin words harena (sand) and draco (dragon). The species name “prima” means first in Latin, referring to the taxon being the first troodontid from the Baruungoyot Formation. Sungjin Lee, Yuong-Nam Lee, Jin-Young Park, Su-Hwan Kim, Zorigt Badamkhatan, Damdinsuren Idersaikhan and Khishigjav Tsogtbaatar. 2024. The first troodontid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous Baruungoyot Formation of Mongolia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e2364746. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2364746 |
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