We report on a new enantiornithine bird, Sulcavis geeorum, gen. et sp. nov., from the Jehol Group of northeastern China. The fossil preserves robust teeth with longitudinal grooves radiating from the occlusal tip preserved in the enamel on the lingual surface. This is the first known occurrence of specialized tooth enamel within Aves. Compared with other Mesozoic groups, stomach contents are hardly ever preserved within enantiornithine specimens; therefore, this new tooth morphology reveals new evidence regarding the diversity of trophic niches occupied by the clade.

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Data, whether images, measurements, counts, occurrences, or character codings, are a cornerstone of vertebrate paleontology. Every published paper, master's thesis, and doctoral dissertation relies on these data to document patterns and processes in evolution, ecology, taphonomy, geography, geologic time, and functional morphology, to name just a few. In turn, the vertebrate paleontology community relies on published data in order to reproduce and verify others' work, as well as to expand upon published analyses in new ways without having to reconstitute data sets that have been used by earlier authors and to accurately preserve data for future generations of researchers. Here, we review several databases that are of interest to vertebrate paleontologists and strongly advocate for more deposition of basic research data in publicly accessible databases by vertebrate paleontologists.

A new genus and species of cyathaspid heterostracan, Capitaspis giblingi, gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Late Silurian (Pridolian) Upper Member of the Somerset Island Formation, Northwest Territories, Canada. The new species is most closely related to Pionaspis in the subfamily Cyathaspidinae, family Cyathaspididae, showing similarity in the presence of distinct central, anterior, and lateral epitega and in overall size and proportions, but differing in details of the ridge pattern. The unique specimen of the new taxon has an articulated oral cover that consists of a series of postoral and oral plates. Because the oral cover is almost unknown for cyathaspids, this specimen increases our knowledge of the range of oral structures in this family beyond the simple structures known for Poraspis and Anglaspis.

The stratigraphic and paleogeographic distribution of the suspension-feeding pachycormiform fish Bonnerichthys is reviewed. Fossils attributable to this genus are known from the Western Interior Seaway (Niobrara Formation of Kansas, Sharon Springs Formation of Kansas, Nebraska, and North Dakota, DeGrey Formation of South Dakota, and possibly Mobridge Formation of Nebraska), the Eastern (Eutaw Formation of Mississippi and Mooreville and Demopolis formations of Alabama and Mississippi) and Western (Ozan Formation of Texas and Marlbrook Marl Formation of Arkansas) Gulf Coastal Plain, the Atlantic Coastal Plain (Wenonah Formation of New Jersey and possibly Marshalltown Formation of Delaware), and Pacific coast (Moreno Formation of California). Chronologically, occurrences of Bonnerichthys range in age from Coniacian to Maastrichtian. Fossils of Bonnerichthys from the Atlantic Coastal Plain, Eastern and Western Gulf Coastal Plain, and Pacific coast are definitively identified and figured here for the first time. Candidate deposits outside the United States that might yield Bonnerichthys are reviewed.

Pepemkay maya, gen. et sp. nov., is described based on a single complete specimen collected in El Chango Quarry, a marine Cenomanian limestone outcrop of the Sierra Madre Formation, near Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas State, southern Mexico. This species is identified as a new member of the Lissoberycinae and differs from other genera of this subfamily because it has an unornamented skull; bones of opercular series with non-spiny posterior borders; dorsal fin with five spines and eight soft rays; pelvic fin including a spine plus three branched soft rays; predorsal formula 0 0/0/1 1/; cycloid scales in the caudal peduncle and anterior half of the body, crenate scales between these body regions; and at least one scale on the opercle and other over the quadrate. Pepemkay maya is the first Trachichthyidae and Lissoberycinae fish found in marine Cretaceous deposits of America; its discovery complements our comprehension on the taxonomical diversity of fossil Trachichthyidae and supports the efforts directed to describe the processes involved in the evolution, origin, and early diversification of this group within an appropriate biogeographical framework, which now involves fossil evidence that has begun to appear in the Cretaceous fossil deposits of America.

A new species of salamandrid is named and described from the Miocene of Randeck Maar, a long-term volcanic lake deposit in southern Germany. Based on a fully articulated specimen, Ichthyosaura randeckensis is named and described as a 3–4 cm long newt with a robust posterolateral process of the frontal, a heavily ornamented skull roof, and a premaxilla with spike-like, parallel alary processes framing a slender fontanelle posteriorly. In a phylogenetic analysis of 14 salamandrid taxa and 38 morphological characters, I. randeckensis is found to nest with I. alpestris, with which it shares apomorphic character states in the morphology of premaxilla and nasal. The present analysis employed more morphological characters than hitherto considered, highlighting the need to conduct more osteological studies of extant salamanders. Its results are largely consistent with recent molecular phylogenetic studies: Tylototriton and Pleurodeles form a clade, with Notophthalmus and Euproctus falling within unresolved trichotomies, followed by Cynops and Ommatotriton as successive crownward clades, then Triturus sensu stricto (T. marmoratus and T. cristatus), and finally Lissotriton and Ichthyosaura as terminal sister taxa.

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Teyumbaita sulcognathus is a peculiar endemic Brazilian rhynchosaur that remained somewhat obscure until recently, when its skull anatomy was described and a new generic name was assigned to this highly autapomorphic taxon. Here, the postcranial skeleton of Teyumbaita sulcognathus is for the first time fully described based on the holotype and the two more complete referred specimens. Rhynchosaur postcranial anatomy has usually been considered to be rather conservative, but T. sulcognathus shows unforeseen morphological variation. Autapomorphic traits were added to the diagnosis of T. sulcognathus and intraspecific variation was also identified. In addition, six new phylogeneticaly informative postcranial characters were recognized. Some of these represent apomorphies of clades such as Rhynchosauridae (axis with ventral keel, crest on the anteromedial surface of tibial shaft) and Hyperodapedontinae (postaxial cervical vertebrae with ventral keel, supinator process composed of a low supinator ridge and the ligament groove), revealing new support for their monophyly. The rhynchosaur diversity of the Otter Sandstone Formation (England) was also evaluated based on a phylogenetic analysis. The results suggest that the postcranium EXEMS 79/1992 is more likely related to Fodonyx spenceri than to Bentonyx sidensis.

A new fossil crocodyliform, Paluxysuchus newmani, gen. et sp. nov., is established on the basis of a nearly complete skull from the Lower Cretaceous (late Aptian) Twin Mountains Formation of north-central Texas. Partially articulated and disarticulated cranial material representing two individuals was recovered from the Jones Ranch locality in close association with the sauropod Paluxysaurus jonesi. The holotype skull is nearly complete, missing the premaxillae, left palatine, and pterygoids, and does not preserve the choanal region. This taxon is notable for having its frontal separated medially from the orbital margin, an extremely elongate anterolateral process of the postorbital, large and rounded supratemporal fenestrae, and a narrow, rod-like posterior ramus of the jugal. These features indicate affinities with goniopholidids, pholidosaurids, and thalattosuchians. A phylogenetic analysis places Paluxysuchus newmani deep within Neosuchia as the sister taxon to the clade that includes Goniopholididae and Eusuchia.

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The Lark Quarry dinosaur tracksite has previously been recognized as recording the stampede of a mixed herd of dozens of small theropod and ornithopod dinosaurs. A reexamination of trackway material reveals that the small theropodtype tracks, previously assigned to the ichnotaxon Skartopus, can co-occur within individual trackways of the ornithopod-type tracks assigned to Wintonopus. Moreover, in singular deep tracks where the overall surface outline resembles Skartopus, the base of the track can also resemble Wintonopus. Whereas the Wintonopus holotype may reflect the pedal anatomy of a shorttoed or subunguligrade ornithopod trackmaker, the elongate ‘oe’ impressions typically associated with Skartopus (including the holotype) primarily provide information on digit movement through the sediment and, in many instances, may represent swim traces. The morphological differences between the two ichnotaxa are therefore not taxonomically significant and we formally propose that Skartopus australis should be considered a junior synonym of Wintonopus latomorum. Longitudinal depth profiles through tracks indicate that many are swim traces. The sedimentology and lithology of Lark Quarry further indicates the site represents a time-averaged assemblage formed in a fluvial-dominated floodplain under variable subaqueous conditions, with the parallel orientation of the numerous trackways formed by trackmakers under the influence of downstream current flow. This indicates that the fluvial environment may have been a preferred route for hydrophilic bipedal dinosaurs. We thus do not consider the Lark Quarry dinosaur tracksite to represent a ‘stampede.’ Instead, the tracksite may represent part of a riverine setting, where the water was shallow, in which small dinosaurs swam and/or waded.

The direct relationship between eggshell structure and eggshell formation is well established for avian eggs, but has never been studied in depth in non-avian dinosaurs. Both biological and crystallographic mechanisms take part in eggshell formation, due to its dual mineralogical and proteinaceous nature, but the exact relative contributions of these processes are still poorly known. Competitive growth has been postulated to be the general mechanism leading to the characteristic columnar construction seen in dinosaur eggshell. Here we analyze the eggshell structure of both ornithopod and non-avian theropod ootaxa with orientation contrast imaging and electron backscatter diffraction and present the first misorientation angle boundary maps of fossil eggshell, in order to ascertain whether competitive growth can explain the development of the columnar structure in non-avian dinosaur eggshell. Our results show that both eggshell types can be constructed via competitive growth, and that small changes in organic core spacing and crystal grain size, which are organically controlled, may develop into major changes in general eggshell structure, which will determine the physical properties of the egg. However, interseed distance cannot be directly correlated with organic core spacing as the competitive growth model predicted.

The fossil snake Najash rionegrina, from the Cenomanian—Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) of Argentina, is reinterpreted after examination of the type and referred material. The current diagnosis is emended in the light of important considerations that cast doubt on the attribution of type and referred specimens (a braincase, a quadrate, and two dentary/lower jaw fragments) used to systematize this taxon. Alternative interpretations of the anatomy of the sacrum and hind limbs are proposed. Following the reevaluation of the anatomy of the type specimen and the removal from this taxon of the above-mentioned referred material, the phylogenetic position of N. rionegrina was tested in a series of maximum parsimony analyses that included all groups of extant snakes, all best-known fossil snakes (i.e., Pachyrhachis, Haasiophis, Eupodophis, Madtsoiidae, and Dinilysia), and alternative outgroups. Regardless of the outgroup used to polarize the character-state transformations, our phylogenetic analyses found no support for the hypothesis that Najash rionegrina occupies a position as the most basal snake. Depending on the outgroup, Najash is placed (1) in a position basal to all living snakes, but more derived than other fossil forms (most notably Pachyrhachis, Eupodophis, and Haasiophis); or (2) as the most basal representative of a clade of fossil snakes that is the sister group of living snakes; or (3) as the most basal representative of a clade of fossil snakes that is located between the Scolecophidia and the Alethinophidia.

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As one of the earliest-known beaked ornithuromorph birds, Archaeorhynchus spathula is important for understanding the early evolution of this derived avian clade. Recently, two new complete and articulated specimens of Archaeohyrnchus spathula were collected from Lower Cretaceous deposits of Jianchang, Liaoning, northeastern China. These specimens preserve new anatomical information, particularly in regards to the morphology of the skull (including the inner structure of the occiput), forelimbs, hind limbs, and sternum. The sternum is similar to that of an unnamed ornithuromorph from the Xiagou Formation, Gansu Province. These new specimens are subadult: together with the holotype of Archaeorhynchus, they constitute the entire Early Cretaceous record of subadult ornithuromorphs and reveal important information regarding the ontogeny of this group. The caudal vertebrae are complete in the two referred specimens and provide information about the development of the pygostyle in basal ornithuromorphs. At least four vertebrae form the pygostyle of Archaeorhynchus and fusion progresses distoproximally. The preservation of gastroliths in all known specimens of Archaeorhynchus signifies that it was likely herbivorous.

We describe three new bandicoot species of the genus Galadi from the Miocene of Riversleigh World Heritage Area in northern Australia. The first species, which is represented by a complete dentary and several isolated upper molars, is restricted to Riversleigh's Faunal Zone B. It is the largest bandicoot as yet known from Riversleigh. The second species is represented by 19 specimens, including a partial skull and several maxillae and dentaries, from Riversleigh's Faunal Zone C. Several features distinguishing this species from the similarly sized type species G. speciosus are of interest, notably the presence of larger maxillopalatine fenestrae and additional maxillary fenestrae, incomplete centrocrista on all upper molars, a more complete posterior cingulum on upper molars, and higher degree of dental wear, which together suggest a more omnivorous diet. The third species is represented by a single maxillary, which exhibits a quite different combination of dental features compared with other Galadi species. All Galadi species appear to be restricted to Riversleigh's Faunal Zones B and C, which are interpreted to be early and middle Miocene in age, respectively, with rainforest habitats persisting throughout.

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The oldest record of Cricetodon (Cricetidae, Rodentia, Mammalia) from the Aragonian type area (Calatayud-Daroca Basin, Zaragoza, Spain) is described. The remains from Las Umbrías (LUM) and Las Planas (LP) sections are attributed to Cricetodon soriae, described in the locality Somosaguas N (SOMN) from the Madrid Basin (biozone E, MN5). The studied material (including 52 jugal teeth) belongs to eight localities spanning a time interval from 14.06 to 13.80 Ma, covering the entire biozone E. A morphometric analysis of the Calatayud-Daroca material provides the most specific and detailed descriptions of C. soriae until now. New complete descriptions of the type material from SOMN and an emended diagnosis of C. soriae are presented. Comparisons with all the species of Cricetodon described to date have been made. Differences between Cricetodon aureus and Cricetodon meini are discussed; the results yielded by the study of more than 100 upper third molars from Vieux-Collonges make it possible, for the first time, to distinguish between those of C. aureus and C. meini, and to compare them both with C. soriae. The presence of common characteristics indicates a closer relationship of C. soriae with the species of Cricetodon from Asia Minor than with the first representatives of Cricetodon in central and eastern Europe. The distribution of C. soriae in the Iberian Peninsula is coincident with the global cooling event and the increasing in aridity in southwestern Europe, and the faunal dispersion event called Conohyus/Pliopitechus that took place during the local biozone E.

Here we report a new early Oligocene cricetid, Paracricetops virgatoincisus, gen. et sp. nov., discovered from the Caijiachong locality in Yunnan Province, China. This new cricetid shows a peculiar combination of characters, such as massive and transversely positioned cusps, crenulated cheek tooth enamel, and a deep fossette enclosed between protocone and paracone. These characters are also present in Cricetops, a cricetid rodent of which the phylogenetic relationship with other cricetids remains debatable. Our phylogenetic analysis based on a data matrix including 37 taxa and 67 morphological characters reveals that Paracricetops and Cricetops are sister groups. Paracricetops, Cricetops, Deperetomys, Meteamys, Selenomys, Melissiodon, Mirrabella, Enginia, Muhsinia, and Aralocricetodon constitute a monophyletic group. This result suggests that these genera should all be grouped in the subfamily Cricetopinae. Our phylogenetic analysis also casts new lights on the origin and early radiation of the family Cricetidae. The subfamily Pappocricetodontinae is a polyphyletic group. Pappocricetodon and Raricricetodon, two basal cricetid genera, are also polyphyletic. A thorough systematic revision of these basal cricetids is needed. Chronological distribution of Eucricetodontinae, Paracricetodontinae, Pseudocricetodontinae, and Cricetopinae indicates that the establishment of these cricetid clades should be in the late Eocene at least. We therefore deduced that the first diversification and dispersal of the family Cricetidae across Eurasia must have occurred well before the Eocene-Oligocene transition.

A new Eocene locality in southern France has yielded a poorly diversified vertebrate fauna but does contain abundant material representing a new species of early equoid, Pachynolophus eulaliensis, sp. nov. Biostratigraphic data for this new locality of Sainte-Eulalie suggest a middle Ypresian age. The new species is the oldest representative of the Palacotheriidae, here including the controversial pachynolophs. The abundant remains of this taxon from a single locality allow the recognition of a high degree of unsuspected variability within this taxon, including sexual dimorphism, thus permitting discussion of the reliability of commonly used characters. A phylogenetic analysis led us to emend the diagnosis of the genus Pachynolophus as well as to suggest the exclusion of ‘Pachynolophus’ hookeri from the genus. This study proposes new hypotheses of relationships among the basal Equoidea and allows us to distinguish the two main groups (Equidae and Palaeotheriidae) earlier in the Eocene, close to the reference level MP8–9. The new material appears to be a fundamental cornerstone in solving the question of the controversial systematics and phylogeny of pachynolophs. It also sheds new light on the temporal and spatial distribution of the initial radiation of European equoids.

Modern pinnipeds distributed along the coasts of continental South America consist almost entirely of otariids (sea lions and fur seals). In contrast, phocids (true seals) are present only on the southernmost extreme of Chile. This recent biogeographic pattern is consistent with the zooarchaeological record (∼8-2 ka), but it is incompatible with the pinniped fossil record during the Neogene. From the middle Miocene to the Pliocene, true seals exclusively dominated pinniped assemblages, and they were only replaced by the fur seals and sea lions sometime after the early Pliocene. Here, we describe pinniped material collected from two new localities in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile, that clarifies this marine mammal faunal turnover. Specifically, these finds provide records of the first occurrence of Otariidae (late Pleistocene) and the last occurrence of Phocidae (early Pliocene) in Chile, which in turn constrain the timing of this turnover to between the early Pliocene and late Pleistocene. The stratigraphic context of these findings provides new insights into hypotheses that explain this faunal turnover in South America, and we briefly discuss them in the context of turnover events involving other marine vertebrates throughout the Southern Hemisphere.