Three-dimensional dental microwear in type-Maastrichtian mosasaur teeth (Reptilia, Squamata)

FM Holwerda, J Bestwick, MA Purnell, JWM Jagt… - Scientific Reports, 2023 - nature.com
Abstract Mosasaurs (Squamata, Mosasauridae) were large aquatic reptiles from the Late
Cretaceous that filled a range of ecological niches within marine ecosystems. The type …

Convergence and constraint in the cranial evolution of mosasaurid reptiles and early cetaceans

RF Bennion, JA MacLaren, EJ Coombs, FG Marx… - Paleobiology, 2023 - cambridge.org
The repeated return of tetrapods to aquatic life provides some of the best-known examples
of convergent evolution. One comparison that has received relatively little focus is that of …

Rise and fall of the phacopids: the morphological history of a successful trilobite family

V Bault, C Crônier, C Monnet, D Balseiro… - …, 2023 - Wiley Online Library
Phacopidae were a successful family of the Silurian–Devonian period. Although their
diversity trends are well identified, their shape evolution is unknown; their morphology often …

The locomotor ecomorphology of Mesozoic marine reptiles

S Gutarra, TL Stubbs, BC Moon, BH Heighton… - …, 2023 - Wiley Online Library
The aftermath of the end‐Permian mass extinction provided ecological opportunities for
many groups of reptiles, marking the beginning of reptile dominance of the Mesozoic …

Morphological disparity of mammalian limb bones throughout the Cenozoic: the role of biotic and abiotic factors

C Serio, RP Brown, M Clauss, C Meloro - Palaeontology, 2024 - Wiley Online Library
Mammals exhibit ecology‐related diversity in long bone morphology, revealing an ample
spectrum of adaptations both within and between clades. Their occupation of unique …

Global ecomorphological restructuring of dominant marine reptiles prior to the Cretaceous–Palaeogene mass extinction

JA MacLaren, RF Bennion… - Proceedings of the …, 2022 - royalsocietypublishing.org
Mosasaurid squamates were the dominant amniote predators in marine ecosystems during
most of the Late Cretaceous. Here, we use a suite of biomechanically rooted, functionally …