Articles | Volume 21, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-137-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-137-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
25 Apr 2018
Research article |
| 25 Apr 2018
| 25 Apr 2018
Growth patterns, sexual dimorphism, and maturation modeled in Pachypleurosauria from Middle Triassic of central Europe (Diapsida: Sauropterygia)
Nicole Klein
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Steinmann Institute, Paleontology, University of Bonn, Bonn,
53115, Germany
Eva Maria Griebeler
Institute of Organismic and Molecular Ecology, Evolutionary Ecology,
Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, 55099, Germany
Related authors
Nicole Klein, Antoine Verrière, Heitor Sartorelli, Tanja Wintrich, and Jörg Fröbisch
Foss. Rec., 22, 91–110, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-91-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-91-2019, 2019
Nicole Klein, Antoine Verrière, Heitor Sartorelli, Tanja Wintrich, and Jörg Fröbisch
Foss. Rec., 22, 91–110, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-91-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-91-2019, 2019
Related subject area
Evolution and phylogeny
The life cycle in late Paleozoic eryopid temnospondyls: developmental variation, plasticity and phylogeny
A unique, large-sized stem Odonata (Insecta) found in the early Pennsylvanian of New Brunswick (Canada)
Sheltered preservation in Ordovician trilobites
Determining the gait of Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene horses from fossilized trackways
†Cretolixon – a remarkable new genus of rhopalosomatid wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespoidea: Rhopalosomatidae) from chemically tested, mid-Cretaceous Burmese (Kachin) amber supports the monophyly of Rhopalosomatinae
The youngest occurrence of embolomeres (Tetrapoda: Anthracosauria) from the Sunjiagou Formation (Lopingian, Permian) of North China
Sampling fossil floras for the study of insect herbivory: how many leaves is enough?
A new species of baenid turtle from the Early Cretaceous Lakota Formation of South Dakota
Quantitative analysis of suture lines in Carboniferous ammonoids
Osseous anomalies of the cryptobranchid Eoscapherpeton asiaticum (Amphibia: Caudata) from the Late Cretaceous of Uzbekistan
New information on the Cenomanian bothremydid turtle Algorachelus based on new, well-preserved material from Spain
A case study of developmental palaeontology in Stereosternum tumidum (Mesosauridae, Parareptilia)
Postcrania of large dissorophid temnospondyls from Richards Spur, Oklahoma
Description of the skeleton of the fossil beaked whale Messapicetus gregarius: searching potential proxies for deep-diving abilities
Foramina in plesiosaur cervical centra indicate a specialized vascular system
The wasp larva's last supper: 100 million years of evolutionary stasis in the larval development of rhopalosomatid wasps (Hymenoptera: Rhopalosomatidae)
The fossil history of pseudoscorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones)
The blueprint of the Amphiesmenoptera – Tarachoptera, a new order of insects from Burmese amber (Insecta, Amphiesmenoptera)
Modeling the physiology of the aquatic temnospondyl Archegosaurus decheni from the early Permian of Germany
Turtle shell bone and osteoderm histology of Mesozoic and Cenozoic stem-trionychian Adocidae and Nanhsiungchelyidae (Cryptodira: Adocusia) from Central Asia, Mongolia, and North America
Reinvestigation of Protelytron permianum (Insecta; Early Permian; USA) as an example for applying reflectance transformation imaging to insect imprint fossils
A new species of Cyclotosaurus (Stereospondyli, Capitosauria) from the Late Triassic of Bielefeld, NW Germany, and the intrarelationships of the genus
New remarkable Late Jurassic teleosts from southern Germany: Ascalaboidae n. fam., its content, morphology, and phylogenetic relationships
New specimen of Cacops woehri indicates differences in the ontogenetic trajectories among cacopine dissorophids
The stratigraphic importance of the brontothere (cf. Diplacodon elatus) in the Brennan Basin Member of the Duchesne River Formation of Utah
Do tracks yield reliable information on gaits? – Part 1: The case of horses
Rainer R. Schoch
Foss. Rec., 24, 295–319, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-295-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-295-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Eryopids were 2 m large relatives of modern amphibians that formed top predators in the Paleozoic. They are found in aquatic deposits and apparently preyed on fishes. Their life cycle is preserved in a single species, Onchiodon labyrinthicus, from eastern Germany. It existed in a stressed ecosystem, and the broad variation in the studied sample correlates with seasonal fluctuations. Eryopids evolved into increasingly large, heavily built inhabitants of streams and seasonal water bodies.
Olivier Béthoux, Rowan E. Norrad, Matthew R. Stimson, Olivia A. King, Luke F. Allen, Isabelle Deregnaucourt, Steven J. Hinds, Jake H. Lewis, and Jörg W. Schneider
Foss. Rec., 24, 207–221, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-207-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-207-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
A specimen of an extinct relative of damsel- and dragonflies was discovered from ca. 310-million-years-old strata from New Brunswick (Canada). It is composed of an incomplete hindwing belonging to a new species whose wingspan was about 35 cm. Despite its incompleteness, it composes a useful addition to our knowledge of the early evolution of the group, owing to its unique combination of traits.
Oldřich Fatka, Petr Budil, and Petr Kraft
Foss. Rec., 24, 193–205, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-193-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-193-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Sixteen samples contain one to six Ordovician trilobites preserved in the protected space inside of empty cephalopod conchs or under diverse parts of exoskeletons of much larger disarticulated trilobites. Analyses of the level of articulation of trilobites in combination with their orientation, disposition, and placement make it possible to conclude that the hidden trilobites deliberately entered shells of dead cephalopods for food, refuge, ecdysis, reproduction or lodging.
Alan Vincelette
Foss. Rec., 24, 151–169, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-151-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-151-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study compares footprints made by modern horses with two fossil trackways. One shows a Pleistocene horse in a gallop of 9 m/s, perhaps fleeing predators or migrating. More intriguing is the trackway of a Miocene horse with diagonal couplets in a gait of 2 m/s. This best matches the artificial gait of the rack/tölt only found in breeds such as the Saddlebred, Icelandic, and Paso, providing more evidence that early horses possessed a greater variety of useful gaits than most modern horses.
Volker Lohrmann, Qi Zhang, Peter Michalik, Jeremy Blaschke, Patrick Müller, Laurent Jeanneau, and Vincent Perrichot
Foss. Rec., 23, 215–236, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-215-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-215-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
A new mid-Cretaceous rhopalosomatid wasp, Cretolixon alatum Lohrmann gen. et sp. nov., is described from Burmese (Kachin) amber. The new genus has a unique mixture of characters, some of which are only known from the recent brachypterous genus Olixon and others of which are known only from the recent macropterous genera. Thus, Cretolixon not only provides further evidence for the monophyly of the family but also contributes evidence for the monophyly of the Rhopalosomatinae.
Jianye Chen and Jun Liu
Foss. Rec., 23, 205–213, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-205-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-205-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, we describe a new species of embolomere from 255-million-year-old fossil beds from northern China. This group of ancient animals is closely related to amniotes (reptiles, birds, and mammals) and was previously thought to have gone extinct around 273 million years ago. The new discovery indicates that North China, with its ancient tropical rain forest, became a last reservoir for these animals right before the end-Permian mass extinction.
Sandra R. Schachat, S. Augusta Maccracken, and Conrad C. Labandeira
Foss. Rec., 23, 15–32, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-15-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-15-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Insects have been feeding on plants for over 300 million years. The fossil record preserves evidence of this behavior: it is possible to examine a fossilized leaf and see the spots where insects ate it or laid their eggs in it. The study of these insect
traceson leaves shows us how insects have adapted to changing climates. Here, we address the question of how many leaves from a single fossil locality must be examined to permit statistically robust comparisons in deep time.
Walter G. Joyce, Yann Rollot, and Richard L. Cifelli
Foss. Rec., 23, 1–13, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-1-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-1-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Baenids are a group of fossil turtles with a rich fossil record that spans from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) to Eocene of North America. Only a few fossils are known that document the early evolution of the group. We here describe a new species of baenid, Lakotemys australodakotensis, from the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian to Valanginian) Lakota Formation of South Dakota, USA. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that this is the oldest known baenid turtle.
Michael Wegerer, Kenneth De Baets, and Dieter Korn
Foss. Rec., 21, 223–236, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-223-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-223-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Two morphometric methods are applied for the analysis of suture lines in Early Carboniferous ammonoids: (1) classic metric data using multivariate statistic methods and (2) outline data are analysed using the elliptic Fourier analysis. Both methods lead to similar results and demonstrate ontogenetic and phylogenetic trends in these ammonoids: (1) a general decrease in the amplitude of lobes and saddles, (2) a proportional widening of the external lobe, and (3) a heightening of the median saddle.
Pavel Skutschas, Veniamin Kolchanov, Elizaveta Boitsova, and Ivan Kuzmin
Foss. Rec., 21, 159–169, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-159-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-159-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Paleopathologies among fossil members of modern groups of amphibians are poorly documented. We describe pathologies of the fossil salamander Eoscapherpeton asiaticum from the Late Cretaceous of Uzbekistan. These pathologies can result from trauma, infection from trauma and congenital disorders. The occurrence of several traumatic femoral pathologies in Eoscapherpeton could result from intraspecific aggressive behavior. Bone pathologies are described for the first time in fossil salamanders.
Adán Pérez-García
Foss. Rec., 21, 119–135, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-119-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-119-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The Spanish Algorachelus peregrinus is the oldest pleurodiran turtle known in the Northern Hemisphere. New material is presented, including several shells. The patterns by which some of them were disarticulated are analyzed. Several pathologies are identified. The knowledge about the anatomy and intraspecific variability is improved. Algorachelus is recognized in the Middle East and North America. The oldest known dispersal event of Pleurodira from Gondwana to Laurasia is characterized.
Constanze Bickelmann and Linda A. Tsuji
Foss. Rec., 21, 109–118, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-109-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-109-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Mesosaurs were reptiles that lived around 280 mya. They were the first land reptile group to return to the water. Study of a fossil from the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin reveals a previously unobserved baby skeleton near the adult. This small skeleton can tell us about how these creatures grew; the lower segment of the hind limb is already proportionally larger than the upper hind limb and the lower and upper forelimbs. This may be because young mesosaurs needed to swim right from birth.
Bryan M. Gee and Robert R. Reisz
Foss. Rec., 21, 79–91, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-79-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-79-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents a description of an extremely well-preserved and articulated skeleton of a temnospondyl amphibian from the early Permian of Oklahoma. Postcranial material is not often well-preserved or well-described in the literature for this group, known as dissorophids, and acquiring new data on this region of the skeleton is important for understanding the evolution of the group. It also represents the first documentation at this site of a genus that was otherwise known only from Texas.
Benjamin Ramassamy, Olivier Lambert, Alberto Collareta, Mario Urbina, and Giovanni Bianucci
Foss. Rec., 21, 11–32, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-11-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-11-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Extant beaked whales perform deep dives to forage for squids. We studied the morphology of the fossil ziphiid Messapicetus gregarius to evaluate its ability to perform such dives. Our analysis suggests an enlargement of the pterygoid sinus system in deep divers. In M. gregarius, the pterygoid sinus is enlarged, but other lines of evidence indicate that the coastal environment also represented an important part of its home range.
Tanja Wintrich, Martin Scaal, and P. Martin Sander
Foss. Rec., 20, 279–290, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-279-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-279-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Plesiosaurians retain a very long neck but greatly reduce neck flexibility, and the cervicals have large, paired, and highly symmetrical foramina on the ventral side of the centrum, traditionally termed
subcentral foramina, and on the floor of the neural canal. We found that these dorsal and the ventral foramina are connected by a canal. The foramen are not for nutrient transfer; they are the osteological correlates of a highly paedomorphic vascular system in the neck of plesiosaurs.
Volker Lohrmann and Michael S. Engel
Foss. Rec., 20, 239–244, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-239-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-239-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Amber functions as a window into the past, capable of capturing behaviors
frozenfor millions of years. Here, we report on the exceptionally rare discovery of a dinosaur-age larva of a stinging wasp, feeding on its cricket host, in mid-Cretaceous amber from Myanmar. It reveals a considerable constancy in the biology of this particular family over the last 100 million years. The excellent preservation of the larva is remarkable and due solely to the fidelity permitted by inclusion in amber.
Danilo Harms and Jason A. Dunlop
Foss. Rec., 20, 215–238, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-215-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-215-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We review the fossil history of pseudoscorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones), one of the oldest terrestrial lineages with
a fossil record that goes back to the Devonian. Pseudoscorpions do not fossilise easily, and records from the Mesozoic and
Cenozoic consist almost exclusively of amber inclusions. Overall, 16 of the 26 recent families have been documented from
fossils. This is a group of evolutionary stasis and we discuss aspects of palaeobiology, preservation, and ecology.
Wolfram Mey, Wilfried Wichard, Patrick Müller, and Bo Wang
Foss. Rec., 20, 129–145, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-129-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-129-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Based on a total of 14 inclusions from Burmese amber the new, extinct insect order Tarachoptera was established. The new order Tarachoptera is placed in the superorder Amphiesmenoptera. The species of Tarachoptera are tiny insects with a wing span of 2.3–4.5 mm, but are highly specialized according to their aberrant morphology. They lived in the forests of Southeast Asia about 100 million years ago.
Florian Witzmann and Elizabeth Brainerd
Foss. Rec., 20, 105–127, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-105-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-105-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Based on the estimation of its body mass and metabolic rate, we calculated heat balance, gas exchange, osmoregulation, and digestion of the 290-million-year-old aquatic amphibian Archegosaurus. Our results suggest that its physiology was more fish- than tetrapod-like in many respects. We conducted this study, which is mainly based on theoretical calculations and comparison with extant analogs, to shed light on the physiology and lifestyle of early tetrapods.
Torsten M. Scheyer, Elena V. Syromyatnikova, and Igor G. Danilov
Foss. Rec., 20, 69–85, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-69-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-69-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We review shell bone microstructures of Adocidae and Nanhsiungchelyidae, two groups of extinct hide-necked turtles related to modern soft-shelled turtles (Trionychidae) and the pig-nosed turtle Carettochelys insculpta (Carettochelyidae). Adocids and nanhsiungchelyids both have a good fossil record in North America and Asia during the Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Our microstructural data supplement previously reported differences in external shell morphology between adocids and nanhsiungchelyids.
Olivier Béthoux, Artémis Llamosi, and Séverine Toussaint
Foss. Rec., 20, 1–7, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-1-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-1-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Fossil insects preserved as an imprint on laminae have subtle differences in relief which can be difficult to photograph. Recourse to reflectance transformation imaging allowed us to deliver exhaustive and interactive photographic data for Protelytron permianum. Based on these data we were able ascertain that it is an early relative of earwigs. In order to better appreciate its elaborate hind wing folding mechanism, we provide guidelines to build and operate a paper model.
Florian Witzmann, Sven Sachs, and Christian J. Nyhuis
Foss. Rec., 19, 83–100, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-19-83-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-19-83-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, the well-preserved skull of a giant amphibian from the Late Triassic Stuttgart Formation (Schilfsandstein) of Bielefeld-Sieker in NW Germany is described and a new species, Cyclotosaurus buechneri sp. nov., is erected. Cyclotosaurus buechneri represents the only unequivocal evidence of Cyclotosaurus in northern Germany. The amphibian skull was found more than 40 years ago and is well known in Bielefeld and the surrounding areas but has so far never been described.
G. Arratia
Foss. Rec., 19, 31–59, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-19-31-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-19-31-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Complete morphological descriptions of exceptionally beautifully preserved Late Jurassic fishes from Bavaria (e.g., Ettling and Eichsttät), southern Germany, are provided for a new genus and species, which is endemic of Ettling and for a new family, Ascalaboidae. The new family is only known from marine Upper Jurassic localities of Europe and is interpreted as an extinct and primitive group of Teleostei, which is considered the largest group within osteichthyans (bony fishes).
N. B. Fröbisch, A. Brar, and R. R. Reisz
Foss. Rec., 18, 73–80, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-18-73-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-18-73-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Here we describe a large specimen of the Paleozoic dissorophid amphibian Cacops woehri from the Fort Sill locality in Oklahoma, which was previously only known from a partial juvenile skull. The new data show that, in contrast to the closely related species C. morrisi, C. woehri underwent only subtle changes in skull morphology in late ontogeny, which indicates different functional demands possibly associated with a different ecology.
B. J. Burger and L. Tackett II
Foss. Rec., 17, 69–74, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-17-69-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-17-69-2014, 2014
K. Kienapfel, S. Läbe, and H. Preuschoft
Foss. Rec., 17, 59–67, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-17-59-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-17-59-2014, 2014
Cited articles
Andersson, M. B.: Sexual selection, Princeton University Press, 599 pp.,
1994.
Blackburn, D. G. and Sidor, C. A.: Evolution of viviparous reproduction in
Paleozoic and Mesozoic reptiles, Int. J. Dev. Biol., 58, 935–948, 2014.
Burnham, K. P. and Anderson, D. R.: Model selection and multimodal inference:
a practical information-theoretic approach, Springer Verlag, Heidelberg,
488 pp., 2002.
Canoville, A. and Laurin, M.: Evolution of humeral microanatomy and lifestyle
in amniotes, and some comments on palaeobiological inferences, Biol. J. Lin.
Soc., 100, 384–406, 2010.
Castanet, J. and Smirina, E.: Introduction to the skeletochronological method
in amphibians and reptiles, Ann. Sci. Nat., Zool. Biol. Anim., 11, 191–196,
1990.
Cheng, Y.-N., Wu, X.-C., and Ji, Q.: Triassic marine reptiles gave birth to
live young, Nature, 432, 383–386, 2004.
Cheng, Y.-N., Holmes, R., Wu, X.-C., and Alfonso, N.: Sexual dimorphism and
life history of Keichousaurus hui (Reptilia: Sauropterygia), J.
Vertebr. Paleontol., 29, 401–408, https://doi.org/10.1671/039.029.0230, 2009.
Cox, R. M., Skelly, S. L., and John-Alder, H. B.: A comparative test of
adaptive hypotheses for sexual size dimorphism in lizards, Evol., 57,
1653–1669, 2003.
Cox, R. M., Butler, M. A., and John-Alder, H. B.: The evolution of sexual
size dimorphism in reptiles, in: Sex, size, and gender roles, edited by:
Fairbain, D. J., Blankenhorn, W. U., and Székely, T., Oxford University
Press, Oxford, 38–49, 2007.
de Magalhães, J. P. and Costa, J.: A database of vertebrate longevity
records and their relation to other life-history traits, J. Evol. Biol., 22,
1770–1774, 2009.
Dunham, A. E.: Food availability as a proximate factor influencing individual
growth rates in the iguanid lizard Sceloporus merriami,
Ecology, 59, 770–778, 1978.
Dunham, A. E.: Populations in a fluctuating environment: the comparative
population ecology of the iguanid lizards Sceloporus merriami and
Urosaurus ornatus, Mics. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan, 158,
1–62, 1981.
Fraas, O.: Simosaurus pusillus aus der Lettenkohle von Hoheneck,
Jahreshefte des Vereins für vaterländische Naturkunde in
Württemberg, Stuttgart, 37, 319–324, 1881.
Fraas, O.: Die schwäbischen Trias-Saurier: nach dem Material der Kgl.
Naturalien-Sammlung in Stuttgart zusammengestellt; mit Abbildungen der
schönsten Schaustücke; Festgabe des Königlichen
Naturalien-Cabinets in Stuttgart zur 42. Versammlung der Deutschen
Geologischen Gesellschaft in Stuttgart, E. Schweizerbart (Koch), Stuttgart,
18 pp., 1896.
Francillon-Vieillot, H., Buffrénil de, V., Castanet, J., Géradudie,
J., Sire, F. J., Zylberberg, I., and Ricqlés, A. de:
Microstructure and mineralization of vertebrate skeletal tissues, in:
Skeletal biomineralization: Patterns, Processes and Evolutionary Trends,
edited by: Carter, J. G., Van Norstrand Reinhold, New York, 471–530, 1990.
Gürich, G. J. E.: Über einige Saurier des oberschlesischen
Muschelkalkes, Ztschr. dt Geol. Ges., 36, 125–144, 1884.
Griebeler, E. M., Klein, N., and Sander, P. M.: Aging, maturation and growth
of sauropodomorph dinosaurs as deduced from growth curves using long bone
histological data: An assessment of methodological constraints and solutions,
PLoS ONE, 8, e67012, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0067012, 2013.
Hugi, J. and Sánchez-Villagra, M. R.: Histological and
skeletochronological analyses on life history and skeletal adaptations in the
marineiguana Amblyrhynchus cristatus and in other iguanas, J.
Herpetol., 46, 312–324, 2012.
Hugi, J., Scheyer, T. M., Sander, P. M., Klein, N., and Sánchez-Villagra,
M. R.: Long bone microstructure gives new insights into the life of
pachypleurosaurids from the Middle Triassic of Monte San Giorgio,
Switzerland/Italy, C. R. Palevol., 10, 413–426,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2011.03.009, 2011.
Jiang, D.-Y., Motani, R., Hao, W.-C., Rieppel, O., Sun, Y.-L., Schmitz, L.,
and Sun, Z.-Y.: First record of Placodontoidea (Reptilia, Sauropterygia,
Placodontia) from the Eastern Tethys, J. Vertebr. Paleontol., 28, 904–908,
https://doi.org/10.1671/0272-4634, 2008.
Klein, N.: Skull morphology of Anarosaurus heterodontus (Reptilia:
Sauropterygia: Pachypleurosauria) from the Lower Muschelkalk of the Germanic
Basin (Winterswijk, the Netherlands), J. Vertebr. Paleontol., 29, 665–676,
2009.
Klein, N.: Long bone histology of Sauropterygia from the Lower Muschelkalk of
the Germanic Basin provides unexpected implications for phylogeny, PLoS ONE,
5, e11613, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0011613, 2010.
Klein, N.: Postcranial morphology and growth of the pachypleurosaur
Anarosaurus heterodontus (Sauropterygia) from the Lower Muschelkalk
of Winterswijk, the Netherlands, Paleont. Z., 86, 389–408,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-012-0137-1, 2012.
Klein, N. and Griebeler, E. M.: Bone histology, microanatomy, and growth of
the nothosaurid Simosaurus gaillardoti (Sauropterygia) from the
Upper Muschelkalk of southern Germany/Baden-Württemberg, C. R. Palevol.,
15, 147–167, 2016.
Klein, N. and Sander, P. M.: Bone histology and growth of the prosauropod
Plateosaurus engelhardti Meyer, 1837 from the Norian bonebed of
Trossingen (Germany) and Frick (Switzerland), Spec. Pap. Paleontol., 77,
169–206, 2007.
Klein, N., Houssaye, A., Neenan, J. M., and Scheyer, T. M.: Long bone
histology and microanatomy of Placodontia (Diapsida: Sauropterygia), Contrib.
Zool., 84, 59–84, 2015a.
Klein, N., Neenan, J. M., Scheyer, T. M., and Griebeler, E. M.: Growth
patterns and life-history strategies in Placodontia (Diapsida:
Sauropterygia), R. Soc. Open Sci., 2, 140440, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.140440, 2015b.
Klein, N., Sander, P. M., Krahl, A., Scheyer, T. M., and Houssaye, A.:
Diverse aquatic adaptations in Nothosaurus spp. (Sauropterygia) –
Inferences from humeral histology and microanatomy, PLoS ONE, 11, e0158448,
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158448,
2016.
Krahl, A., Klein, N., Sander, P. M.: Evolutionary implications of the
divergent long bone histologies of Nothosaurus and
Pistosaurus (Sauropterygia, Triassic), BMC Evol. Biol., 13, 1–23,
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-13-123, 2013.
Kupfer, A.: Sexual size dimorphism in amphibians: an overview, in: Sex, size
and gender roles: Evolutionary Studies of Sexual Size Dimorphism, edited by:
Fairbain, D. J., Blankenhorn, W. U., and Székely, T., Oxford University
Press, Oxford, 50–59, 2007.
Kupfer, A., Kramer, A., and Himstedt, W.: Sex-related growth patterns in a
caecilian amphibian (genus Ichthyophis): Evidence from Laboratory
Data, J. Zool. Lond., 262, 173–178, 2004.
Lee, A. H. and Werning, S.: Sexual maturity in growing dinosaurs does not fit
reptilian growth models, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 105, 582–587, 2008.
Lin, K. and Rieppel, O.: Functional morphology and ontogeny of
Keichousaurus hui (Reptilia, Sauropterygia), Fieldiana Geol., N. S.,
39, 1–35, 1998.
Liu, J., Rieppel, O., Jiang, D.-Y., Aitchison, J. C., Motani, R., Zhang,
Q.-Y., Zhou, Ch.-Y., and Sun, Y.-Y.: A new pachypleurosaur (Reptilia:
Sauropterygia) from the Lower Middle Triassic of southwestern China and the
phylogenetic relationships of Chinese pachypleurosaurs, J. Vertebr.
Paleontol., 31, 292–302, 2011.
Meiri, S., Feldman, A., and Kratochvíl, L.: Squamate hatchling size and
the evolutionary causes of negative offspring size allometry, J. Evol. Biol.,
28, 438–446, 2015.
Monnet, J.-M. and Cherry, M. I.: Sexual size dimorphism in anurans, P. Roy.
Soc. Lond. B, 269, 2301–2307, https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2002.2170, 2002.
Myhrvold, N. P.: Revisiting the estimation of dinosaur growth rates, PLoS
ONE, 8, e81917, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0081917, 2013.
Nopcsa, F.: Palaeontological notes on reptiles, Geol. Hungaria, S. Pal., 1,
3–84, 1928.
O'Keefe, F. R. and Chiappe, L. N.: Viviparity and K-selected life history in
a Mesozoic marine plesiosaur (Reptilia, Sauropterygia), Science, 333,
870–873, 2011.
Owen-Smith, N. and Mills, M. G. L.: Predator-prey size relationships in an
African large-mammal food web, J. Anim. Ecol., 77, 173–183, 2008.
Pütter, A.: Wachstumsähnlichkeiten, Pflügers Archive für
Gesamte Physiologie Menschen und Tiere, 180, 298–340, 1920.
Reiss, M. J.: The allometry of growth and reproduction, Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, 200 pp., 1989.
Renesto, S., Lombardo, C., Tintori, A., and Danini, G.: Nothosaurid embryos
from the Middle Triassic of northern Italy: An Insight into the Vivparity of
Nothosaurs?, J. Vertebr. Paleontol., 23, 957–960, 2003.
Rieppel, O.: A new pachypleurosaur (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the Middle
Triassic of Monte San Giorgio, Switzerland, Philos. T. Roy. Soc. B, 323,
1–73, 1989.
Rieppel, O.: Sauropterygia I – Placodontia, Pachypleurosaurier,
Nothosauroidea, Pistosauroidea, in: Encyclopedia of Paleoherpetology, edited
by: Wellnhofer, P., Friedrich Pfeil Verlag, München, 1–134, 2000.
Rieppel, O. and Lin, K.: Pachypleurosaurs (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the
Lower Muschelkalk, and a review of the Pachypleurosauroidea, Fieldiana Geol.,
N. S., 32, 1–44, 1995.
Ritz, J., Griebeler, E. M., Huber, R., and Clauss, M.: Body size development
of captive and free ranging African spurred tortoises (Geochelone sulcata): high plasticity in reptilian growth rates, Herp. J. 20, 213–216,
2010.
Sander, P. M.: A fossil embryo from the Middle Triassic Alps, Science, 239,
780–783, 1988.
Sander, P. M.: The pachypleurosaurids (Reptilia: Nothosauria) from the Middle
Triassic of Monte San Giorgio (Switzerland) with the description of a new
species, Philos. T. Roy. Soc. B, 325, 561–666, 1989.
Sander, P. M.: Skeletochronology in the small Triassic reptile
Neusticosaurus, Ann. Sci. Nat., Zool. Biol. Anim., 11, 213–217,
1990.
Scharf, I., Feldman, A., Novosolov, M., Pincheira-Donoso, D., Das, I., Indraneil, D., Böhm, M., Uetz, P.,
Torres-Carvajal, O., Bauer, A., Roll, U., and Meiri, S.: Late bloomers and baby
boomers: ecological drives of longevity in squamates and the tuatara, Global
Ecol. Biogeogr., 24, 396–405, 2015.
Schoener, T. W. and Schoener, A.: Estimating and interpreting body-size
growth in some Anolis lizards, Copeia, 1978, 390–405, 1978.
Seeley, H. G.: On Neusticosaurus pusillus (Fraas), an amphibious
reptile having affinities with terrestrial Nothosauria and with marine
Plesiosauria, Q. J. Geol. Soc., 38, 350–366, 1882.
Shang, Q. H., Wu, X. C., and Li, C.: A new eosauropterygian from Middle
Triassic of eastern Yunnan Province, southwestern China, Vertebrata
PalAsiatica, 49, 155–171, 2011.
Shine, R.: Ecological causes for the evolution of sexual dimorphism: a review
of the Evidence, Q. Rev. Biol., 64, 419–461, 1989.
Sinclair, A. R. E., Mduma, S., and Brashares, J. S.: Patterns of predation in
a diverse predator-prey system, Nature, 425, 288–290, 2003.
Stamps, J. A.: Sexual size dimorphism in species with asymptotic growth after
maturity, Biol. J. Lin. Soc., 50, 123–145, 1993.
Stamps, J. A. and Krishnan, V. V.: Sexual bimaturation and sexual size
dimorphism in animals with asymptotic growth after maturity, Evol. Ecol., 11,
21–39, 1997.
Stamps, J. A., Krishnan, V. V., and Andrews, R. M.: Analyses of sexual size
dimorphism using null growth-based models, Copiea, 3, 598–613, 1994.
Stein, K. and Prondvai, E.: Rethinking the nature of fibrolamellar bone: an
integrative biological revision of sauropod plexiform bone formation, Biol.
Rev., 89, 24–47, 2013.
Sues, H.-D. and Caroll, R. L.: The pachypleurosaurid Dactylosaurus schroederi (Diapsida: Sauropterygia), Can. J. Earth. Sci., 22, 1602–1608,
1985.
von Bertalanffy, L.: A quantitative theory of organic growth, Hum. Biol., 10, 181–213, 1938.
Werner, J. and Griebeler, E. M.:
Allometries of maximum growth rate versus body mass at maximum growth indicate that
non-avian dinosaurs had growth rates typical of fast growing ectothermic sauropsids, PLOS ONE, 9, e88834, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0088834, 2014.
Wu, X.-C., Cheng, Y.-N., Li, C., Zhao, L.-J., and Sato, T.: New Information
on Wumengosaurus delicatomandibularis Jiang et al. 2008 (Diapsida:
Sauropterygia), with a revision of the osteology and phylogeny of the taxon;
J. Vertebr. Paleontol., 31, 70–83, 2011.
Xue, Y., Jiang, D., Motani, R., Rieppel, O., Sun, Y., Sun, Z., Ji, Ch., and
Yang, P.: New information on sexual dimorphism and allometric growth in
Keichousaurus hui, a pachypleurosaur from the Middle Triassic of
Guizhou, South China, Acta Palaeontol. Pol., 60,
681–687, 2015.
Special Issue